More Pictures

It was so stinking hot here in the desert, that the folks and I scooted off to the coast.

Tuesday we spent all day driving around San Diego in what Daddy called "a nostalgic trip." He was stationed in the area in the late 60's and hasn't been back since. Mom and I tried not to be too bored as we drove around San Diego with Dad as excited as a school kid going "oh oh look there is the building where I stayed my first night at the recruit depot" "oh oh look there is the place where I did the other thing" "oh it's the USO where we could get our ties pressed".

Okay, so I'm exaggerating for comedic effect, but it was funny.

But Mom and I did enjoy watching him being so excited. I flashed my military ID and got us on the base at Coronado Island where he was with the Beach Masters and we got on the 32nd Street Pier where he did some other thing. I forget....

We did do other things too. We spent some time on the beach picking up rocks for Sam and we ate some amazingly great Mexican food at the El Torrito at Vista and El Camino Real in Oceanside. If you ever find yourself on Highway 78 in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area, I suggest stopping in there for some great food and fabo service.

Wednesday on our way back to the desert, we stopped in San Juan Capistrano and did a tour of the mission there. I had tons of fun playing with my camera and taking some nice shots.

All in all, it was a great visit and having them here really gave me the shot in the arm that I needed.

Parents Come To Visit

What a lucky girl I am, my parents came into town on Sunday to visit me. Here are a few shots for now, more and the whole story of the visit to come!

Mini Me

Not having any kids of your own is fun sometimes. You get to be cool Aunt Wendy that gets down in the floor and play and only do the fun stuff.

My sister has three of the coolest, cutest kids ever. I've already introduced you to Opie. Let me tell you about "my child", Samantha.

Janet is always calling me asking me "do you know what your child did today?". It's not that Sam looks just like me, even though she's the spitting image of me at that age, she's got my personality as well.

She has to be the center of attention, just like me, she needs to be right, just like me, and she likes men, just like me!


Once she talked her Dad into playing Atari Pong with her. She was beating him pretty soundly and he thought that was odd. He usually beat her when they played. Then she started giving him tips on how to play better. After a while, he was getting pretty irritated to be beaten so regularly by a 7 year old. Finally she couldn't hold in the secret any longer (another way she's like me) she was only pretending to play, he was playing the computer!!

That's my girl!

Leaving Las Vegas

Have you seen the movie Leaving Las Vegas? 1995, Nicholas Cage won a Best Actor Award for the role?

Well, I hated the movie. I thought it was depressing and morose with no real meaning other than it's okay to just give up, don't bother fighting, just give up.

The other day at work, some coworkers and I were discussing our favorite movies and one of the ladies said her favorite movie was Leaving Las Vegas. When I expressed how much I hated it, she was aghast, like I had said I hated puppies or something. She talked about it for days, kept bringing it up like it was some kind of character flaw of mine.

Finally about 4 or 5 days after the first time the topic was brought up, she informed me she knew why I didn't like the movie. I guess she had been discussing me and my dislike for the movie with her friends and they decided that I didn't like the movie because I had led a "charmed life." If I had ever experienced any real hardship, she informed me, I would get this movie.

At the time I just agreed with her that I had had a very good life and let it go, because I was, frankly, tired of the subject. But then later, as I thought about it, it really upset me.

First, who is she to question my life? How does she know what kind of heartache or hardship I have or have not experienced. I'm not a whiney, complain about my problems kind of person. I don't go around advertising issues I may or may not have.

Secondly, it's not luck that I've had a good life. I work hard to have the fantastic life I live.

It's true, I've never been an alcoholic or addicted to any substance. Well this isn't luck. I'm too smart to get addicted to anything. I also have too high of a moral fiber and character. No, it's not luck, it's who I am and the standards I hold myself too that caused this.

It's also true that I've never seriously considered suicide. This isn't luck either. Suicide is selfish, it's thinking only of yourself and your pain and completely disregarding any pain you might cause your loved ones by taking your own life. I am not selfish, I would never do that to my friends and family. So it's not luck that I have never been tempted by giving up.

It's true that I have never been alone and friendless. Is this luck? I think not. I am a good person, I give to others of my heart and am there for them when they need me. I inspire people to like me by simply being who I am. When I have a hard time in my life, my loved ones are there for me not because I'm lucky, but because of who I am and what I give out.

I've never been wiped out financially, that is true, but I refuse to let that be chalked up to luck. There have been things that could have devastated Dave and I financially; astronomical oral surgery bills, unexpectedly losing my job at the Comfort Inn, leaving my job at the Quality Inn, etc. The difference is, when we were flush, we saved and planned for hard times. We didn't just spend willy nilly because we had it, we put money away for a rainy day. We invested in our Roth IRA's, our Thrift Savings Plan, and our regular savings accounts.
While it could happen that something so terrible would happen that we would be destitute, it's pretty unlikely. We're well insured, we plan for any avenue that we can conceive of, and I refer back to my last point. Even if something were to happen that would wipe us out financially, we have a strong support network of friends and family who would help us out. This is not luck, this is being smart and being a good person.

It is true that I have never been in an abusive situation, but this isn't luck either. If there were a rift in the space/time continuum and Dave suddenly became a person that hits his wife, he wouldn't dare to touch me. He knows me enough to know that he might have the strength to beat me once, but he better not ever sleep again for the rest of his life. I do not allow myself to be treated that way. Period. End of conversation. That isn't luck, that's my strength of character and my extremely high self esteem.

Even when bad things do happen to me, and yes I have experienced bad things in my life, I don't let them destroy me. I pick myself up, I learn from the experience, and I move on. I try to use what I learned to help others and to improve my life and the lives of people around me.

I will admit that I have been lucky in one aspect of my life. I was born to two amazing parents that instilled in me a strong character, good work ethic, high moral fiber, and a healthy self esteem. That was luck. Everything else, Dave and I did on our own.

I refuse to let my life be regarded as a serious of lucky events. I work hard to be who I am and to live as I do. I will not have my life dismissed in that manner, I'm too damn proud of it to allow that.

Taking Care of Their Own

The coolest thing about being around the Marine Corp, is the way that they take care of their own. If I was ever having a problem, anywhere in the world, and found someone who was a Marine and identified myself as a Marine wife; they would help me. Even if they didn't know me or know my husband. Marines are just like that.

So when Dave shipped out, one of his buddies gave me his cellphone number and told me to call him night or day if I ever needed anything at all.

Well a few days ago, my mailbox fell down. I've been trying to push it back down in the sand and prop it up with rocks, but today the mailman left me a note that this was not an appropriate remedy and I needed to have it fixed.

So I called Roy. When I called him, I think he was expecting a problem of more emotional type. He was all "so Wendy, how are you?" :::insert calming concerned voice here:::

I was like "My mailbox fell down"

Roy: "What?"

Me: "my mailbox fell down and I can't fix it and the mailman isn't happy with me. Can you help me?"

Roy: :::laughing his butt off::::

So he's coming over tomorrow morning before I go to work to fix my mailbox.

Gotta love how these guys take care of their own. Even if they do laugh at me.

So Proud of my Sweet Niece

This is my beautiful niece Opie, who is so grown up that only Aunt Wendy is still allowed to still call her Opie. To everyone else in the world she will only answer to her "real" name of Ellen.

Opie is not only beautiful on the outside, but this adorable young lady is just as beautiful on the inside. She recently gave her prized possession, her gorgeous long hair, to donate it to Locks of Love.

Opie, Darling, I'm so proud of you,
Love Aunt Wendy

A Tradition

If you look at any photographs of me taken during February through August of 2003 or during February through September of 2004 or any taken since March 4th of this year, you will see the same thing in every single picture.



A black cord around my neck with Dave's wedding ring. It's a tradition that we have during deployments in a combat zone.

When Dave left for Desert Storm in 1991, he wasn't allowed to wear any jewelry. So before he left, he put his wedding ring on a black silk cord and put it around my neck. It did not come off until he came back home to me.



When he left in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he told me that he would wear it if I wanted; but that he would really like it if I wore it again. He said that he felt like nothing could ever happen to him if his heart was next to mine.

It's been a tradition ever since. It's one of the last things we do before he gets on the bus and it's one of the first things we do when we see each other again. We even make a little ceremony of it.



Having it there makes me feel better too. It's like a worry stone, I find myself reaching up and holding it without even realizing it. Then after he comes home, I find myself reaching for it, and finding it gone. It takes me a few weeks to get used to it not being there.

All three of the last times I put that ring back where it belonged, I thought that it would be the last time I would have to wear his ring like that. This time, I'm not going to have that luxury. This time when he comes home, I know he's going back in another 11 months. His ring will stay where it belongs for almost a year before I take it back and start the worry process all over again.

BUT....that one will be the last time!

100 Days

100 Days behind us...and just 13 days from being half way through this deployment. Before too much longer, I'll be counting down from 100 to when he comes home!

Can you believe this picture? It was taken in the middle of a sandstorm. Yes, that is an orange sky...orange air! All from sand.

A Laugh for Today

The elderly American gentleman arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he fumbled for his passport.

"You 'ave been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. The old gent admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Zen, you should know enough to 'ave your passport ready for inspection."The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. You Americans alwayz 'ave to show your passports on arrival in France!"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach in '44 I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to!"

A Scary Discovery

I am a freak about my personal safety. One of my biggest fears is being sexually violated, stemming from my control issues, I suppose.

When I walk through a parking lot, I am always aware of my surroundings. I have left a movie theater before because the only other person in the theater was male. I always check my car before I get in. I don't drink too much in public unless I'm with someone that I trust who isn't drinking. I own a knife and a shotgun and I know how to use them both.

Once, when I was working at my last hotel, I was on the back side of the property checking rooms. It was summer and the place was pretty deserted. I had left the front door of the room I was checking cracked and as I walked out of the bathroom there was a man standing in the room.
I put my hands out in front of me and said loudly and firmly "leave the room!" He did fairly quickly and after I closed the room door behind me, I turned to the gentleman and started to apologize. He stopped me quickly and said, "No, never apologize for protecting yourself. It was stupid of me to follow you into that room; I just wanted to get some pool towels. By the way, would you come and talk to my wife and daughter? I'm always after them about being more careful!"
I firmly believe that a nice man is never going to get mad at you for doing what you need to do to make sure you are safe.

So today I needed to go into my back yard and went out the sliding glass door off our bedroom. That porch is fenced in with a gate, and the latch is hard to open. I noticed that the bottom of the gate was pulled way out from the frame. I went to pull on the middle brace and noticed it was very loose. I went out a different door and looked at it from the outside. The gate is cracked. Someone has tried to get into the porch on the back of my house.

Before Dave left for Iraq, he had a good Brinks alarm system installed. Our house is on a busy corner right next to a bus stop and there is always riff raff hanging our there.

Needless to say I am more than slightly freaked out and will be much more vigilant about setting the house alarm from now on.

It's So Dang HOT!

UHG! I woke up at 7:45am this morning...I had another 15 minutes to sleep before the alarm went off, but I couldn't. It was too hot.

I had to get up and turn on my swamp cooler before 8am!

It's going to be 107 here today and they are predicting 109 for tomorrow.

It's going to be a long, hot summer!