Comments (9)

By Alyssa, July 27, 2010 10:13 pm

I would love to have more kiddos.  Hubby Haus is all for more kiddos, as long as we are debt-free (read this original post).  I’ve got all the cloth diapers I need, the clothes (well, if I have a girl in the future, she’s going to be wearing a lot of blue), and the baby stuff.  The only thing I don’t have is a car that fits more than two car seats.  I drive the boys in a Toyota Camry and, although our Toyota Tundra could squeeze three little dudes in the back seat, Haus stopped letting me drive it once Bubba referred to it as “Mommy’s truck”.

Since we are within a month of debt-free-ness (didn’t happen in June because Haus surprised me with a new laptop), we’ve had more than a few discussions about another vehicle.  Here are our requirements:

- Seating for at least 5 normal sized peeps, preferably seating for 7 (normal means my 6’5″ hubby could somewhat fit in the back row)

- All-Wheel-Drive or at least 4-Wheel-Drive

- Leather seating (2 boys, one dog, enough said)

- Around 60, 000 miles or less

- We’d prefer a Toyota as we love our mechanic and have been faithful Toyota owners for ten years

- We’re paying cash… haven’t made a car payment in years

I researched All-Wheel-Drive vehicles, and the only one Toyota makes that we can afford is the Sienna.  The Swagger Wagon.  I told myself a long time ago that I would never buy a minivan, but then I watched this:

And I realized that instead of making a prideful decision, the mini is within our price range, meets all of our needs, and serves our last requirement, fits our kids and their friends.  Sure, I’d really love a Sequoia, but we can’t afford that right now.  Besides, the Sienna videos are stinking hilarious.

I guess I’d love to hear your opinion.  Do you own a minivan?  Are you totally against minivans?  Why?

Oh, and, no, I’m not pregnant.  Just preparing.

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By Alyssa, July 27, 2010 7:22 pm

Start at the beginning by clicking here.

Sitting in the back of the auditorium during an Advanced Biochemistry lecture, I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor anymore.  I wish this epiphany would have surfaced during my first semester of college or my second, even my third semester when I barely passed Genetics 101.  Nope.  I held out and C minus-ed my way to my 4th semester of college, just before spring break of my sophomore year.  I wasn’t a quitter and hated my way through all of the classes until I just couldn’t hate it anymore.

I left that class early, made an appointment with my advisor, and told her I would be dropping the remainder of my pre-med classes.  She put up a little fight.  If I finished that semester I would have a Chemistry minor. I was adamant and told her I couldn’t do it one more day, not even one more class.  After she agreed, I called my ROTC advisor and started the paperwork to change majors.  Unlike other majors at that time, an ROTC student commits in writing to be a future Army doctor.  The Army accepted my change of major, instead of a Pre-medical Biology major with an English minor, I would now pursue an English-Writing major.

After changing majors I left for spring break.  My roommate and fellow band member, Amy, invited me to her home in Phoenix.   I celebrated the week of freedom by relaxing next to her parents backyard pool and reading a non-academic book, “Kissed Dating Goodbye”.  The book convinced me I could maintain friendships with men until I was ready to get married, which wasn’t anytime soon.  On the plane ride back, I felt relief. Haus was my best friend and I was determined to keep it that way.  Amy’s parents agreed to host the “Babes,” my girl band, for the summer and I couldn’t wait to hang out with my best friends for a few months.  Everything was going exactly as I planned. Well, until I got back to school the end of March.

Sunday night after spring break I got a phone call from a buddy in ROTC.  Although we agreed earlier in the spring semester to pay a lower ticket price and escort each other to the Military Ball, he wanted to back out as he asked a girl he had just started dating.  Hanging up the phone, I glanced over at the blue evening gown I bought in Phoenix and slumped on the couch.  Before I could think about who might go with me, I heard a thud, thud, thud at the door.  That knock could only be one guy, I thought, as I jumped up and opened my dorm room door.

This moment remains a permanent picture in my mind today.  Haus smiled from outside of my room saying, “Welcome Back.”  His fresh tan from a family trip to Mexico perfectly complimented his beaming smile and hazel eyes.  He asked me if I’d eaten dinner and, before I could respond, led me to his car.  A few minutes later we were sitting across from each other in a Jack in the Box booth near campus.

“I think we should date,” he said finally.

“Say that again?” I said in between mouthfuls of a Sourdough Jack.  Finishing my bite, I laughed and said, “Sure, sure, now you want to date.”  He couldn’t be serious after almost a year of the “let’s-just-be-friends” bit.

Looking at me with an incredibly handsome face, he said, “I was talking to my friends and I can’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t be dating.”  I let him continue as I repeated in my head kissed dating goodbye, kissed dating goodbye, oh man he’s gorgeous, kissed dating goodbye.  ”We didn’t date to begin with because of Cowboy being your ex, but he’s not even a close friend of mine anymore and I…”  He trailed off before grabbing my hand, “I want to be more than just your friend.”

Gulping I tried to remain strong as thoughts zoomed in and out.  He’s your friend.  You don’t need a boyfriend.  He’s amazing.  He’s everything you’ve every wanted in a boyfriend.  Dating would complicate everything.  Dating would give you someone to wear that blue gown for.  Dating would be incredible.  Stop, stop, he’s your friend.  I heaved in a breath before responding.  ”I think we should stay friends,” I exhaled.

I’ll continue this soap opera… errr, I mean my story in the next post.  To be continued…

Comments (4)

By Alyssa, July 20, 2010 10:17 pm

Can you tell I’m on a camping kick?  I’m coming up on July camping trip #3 and, at the request of my friends that know my obsessiveness, decided to share my camping checklist.

I’m a checklist girl, always have been.  I wrote checklists as young as 9 years old that listed things like, “Wake-up… check, Get dressed… check, Watch cartoons… check, etc.”  I’ve looked at almost a dozen camping checklists online and none apply to car camping.  So I wrote this one.  You’ll notice my list is sectioned off by where I keep things, one large Rubbermaid tub and a smaller picnic basket.  We pack everything in the bed of our Toyota Tundra.  Guess if I’ve got a checklist and four camping trips in one month, I better start calling myself a camper, huh?

Car Camping Checklist (or Truck Camping Checklist if you want to get technical)

Basics (Truck Bed)

• Rope and Bungee cords
• Tarp
• Camp stove
• Propane
• Sleeping bags x4
• Pillows x4
• Blankets
• Pack-n-play or Porta-crib
• Chairs x4
• Beach Umbrella
• Sand toys
• Firewood

Basics (Rubbermaid Tub)

• Tent
• Tent stakes
• Thermarest pads x2
• Air mattress with pump (D batteries)
• Coleman lantern w/gas
• Flashlights/Headlamps
• Extension Cord
• Dish wash bin
• Tea kettle
• Coffee and Cocoa
• Large Cutting board
• Paper towels
• Wet wipes
• Mini-broom and dustpan
• Trash bags
• Insect Repellent
• First Aid (band aids, etc)
• Flyswatter
• Clothes pins
• Newspaper
• Axe

Kitchen (Picnic Basket)

• Mugs, Plates
• Knife
• Silverware
• Tongs, Spatula, Serving Spoon
• Frying Pan
• Serving Trays
• Oven mitts
• Dish towel
• Sponge, Soap, Scrubber
• Matches, lighter
• Salt/Pepper
• Aluminum Foil
• Table Cloth

Ice Chest

• Ice
• Butter
• Ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Bread/Tortillas
• Meat
• Fruit and Veggies
• Milk
• Chips, snacks
• S’more items
• Water, Drinks

Personal Items

• Shirts, shorts, pants, socks, underwear
• Sweatshirts, jackets
• Hats
• Pajamas
• Swimsuits
• Hiking shoes
• Water shoes
• Towels
• Sunscreen
• Chapstick
• Sunglasses
• Toiletries

Pet items

• Food
• Dog bed
• Leash
• Toys

A few things we would love to purchase in the future: canopy with screen, cots, camping cookware (right now I use one old frying pan and our camp stove comes with a cast iron griddle), S’more/hot dog skewers (the telescoping kind).  I’ll be honest that camping is growing on me.  It’s not that expensive, you can’t beat the Colorado scenery, and the kids absolutely love it.  Sleeping on borrowed cots made a HUGE difference in how much I liked living in a tent this last weekend, even with the boys waking up at 5:30 a.m.  I’ll let you know if I’m still positive after camping trip three and four.

Let me know what I’m missing from the list.  I’m probably obsessive-Type-A-over-prepared, but that’s the nice thing about car camping.  You can stow all of the extra crap in the car and feel good that you didn’t forget anything.  Happy camping!

Comments (4)

By Alyssa, July 15, 2010 2:13 pm

If you read my last post, you know I promised to write about the first of many camping trips I have planned. Surprisingly, this excursion turned out to be pretty interesting as my Army unit trained on survival techniques in the gorgeous Colorado Rockies.

************

WARNING: I did include one picture of a rabbit I killed and cleaned.  I did not find it appropriate to take a picture of anything except the cleaned meat, but the meat isn’t washed in the picture.

Oh, and second warning, in most of these pictures, I haven’t showered or brushed my teeth.

************

I arrived at the site on Friday around 10 p.m., past my bedtime, and immediately threw on a headlamp to cross a small creek and set up a sleeping area.  Too tired for a hooch (Army term for poncho tent), I hoped the base of four Ponderosa pine trees would provide shelter from the rain and a high enough spot to avoid damp ground.

Here’s what it looked like when I unzipped my bivy sack (cover for my sleeping bag) the next morning:

And here’s a picture of my temporary set-up (Army backpack or ruck under my poncho and sleeping bag inside of my woodland camouflaged bivy sack):

There isn’t enough room for me to write about all of the classes I took on Saturday, but if you’re interested, almost everything I learned came from the U.S. Army Survival Manual FM 21-76.

After knots classes (using rope in survival situations), I built my own little fire using flint.

Although my fire looked puny compared to the signal fire we lit.

I learned about setting snares for small animals (I’m so super-camoed I’m sure it’s hard to see me behind the snare)…

and set-up my hooch just before it started pouring rain.

If you’re wondering why I’m wearing ten different kinds of cold weather gear in these JULY pictures, it’s because I’m a pansy when it comes to outdoor temperatures below, well… the seventies.  P.A.N.S.Y.

Somewhere in between the survival classes, I sat down for a nice radioactive Army meal, the kind that won’t go bad for about a billion years.  The chicken tasted pretty… orange.

After eating that substance, I decided that although I would have to kill a live animal in my next class at least it would provide me with less-neon protein.

The rabbit kill.  This subject seemed to be the only thing my friends wanted to hear about after this trip so I’ll give you some details.  Our instructor stressed the humane killing of animals which I appreciated (part of the reason I buy grass-fed beef) and the techniques we used caused as little pain and suffering as possible to the animal.

After watching my instructor kill and clean his rabbit, I chose a fluffy white and black bunny from the cage holding four other rabbits.  I say bunny because this guy looked like Thumper.  Disassociating myself with the cuteness, I grabbed the rabbit’s back legs and proceeded to swing him slowly upside down.  Not sure why this technique subdues the animal (much like chickens and other fowl) but after a minute or two, he stopped kicking long enough for me to slowly lift him with my left hand.  I thank my son’s martial arts class for the next part as I used my right hand to swiftly karate chop the rabbit right behind the ears and break its neck. I immediately placed him on the ground and used my foot to brace his head as I twisted his neck to ensure a clean kill.   Looking back I think the karate chop was the most important part.  The faster and more efficiently this step is done the less pain to the animal.

I cleaned him using a simple field knife… no details here as there are many different ways to clean an animal. Here is my one and only pic post cleaning (I saved the liver and heart and as much meat as possible during the cleaning):

Someone was kind enough to bring BBQ sauce which made the meat considerably better.

After it was all said and done, I really enjoyed this trip.  I’m not a big fan of having to kill my own food, but I feel confident I could do it again to survive.  I greatly respect those that have lived through real survival situations.

If you’re interested in some extra reading, check out the Wikipedia description of the area, Camp Hale.  I couldn’t believe some of the history behind the land from WWII training to a super-secret CIA operation in the sixties.  Happy camping season to you and yours!

Comments (3)

By Alyssa, July 9, 2010 5:16 pm

I married a sailor for a specific reason.  Sailing vacations mean a nice warm bed, showers, and a kitchen.  In Colorado, our sailing is limited by, uh… no ocean, so we’ve found ourselves doing what all the other Coloradans do for vacations.

Camping.  Tent camping, actually.

I’m not a camper.  I’m a wanna-be sailor.  The Army ruined me of ever enjoying sleeping on the ground.

Now imagine what it was like for me today when I looked at the calendar and realized in the next thirty days, I have four camping trips scheduled.  FOUR.  When I agreed to a July group camping trip way back in March, I thought to myself, fine… great, got my one camping trip of the summer out of the way.

My boys, you see, LOVE camping.  They love the tent, the dirt, the marshmallow stickiness.  So I submit to one camping trip a year.  One.  And then there were four.  Two with showers, one with port-a-johns (another thing the Army ruined… wait… they weren’t ever cool), and one that I’m getting paid for.

I start the getting paid one tonight as I drive up to the Colorado Rockies and hike in for Army survival training.  Kill your food, build your lean-to, stoke your fire-kind of survival training.  I figure if I survive this weekend I can survive a month of camping, right?  I’m just hoping the amount of hours I’ve spent drooling, I mean, studying Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild will count for something.

Camping trip one, here I come!  Pictures to follow…