Oh my gosh, we're almost there!!!

I got the word on Sunday...my husband will officially be a Ranger tomorrow!!! I am sooo proud of him. He made it all the way through without recycling! He got sick in 2 of the phases and we thought for sure he wasn't going to make but he kept telling me that he was definitely being watched over. Today I get to pick him and a couple of his buddies up for a pass. We're going to do some shopping, eat some ginormous calzones, and come home to relax. He told me to set up the living room so his buddies can just sit there and zone out. So we have the game consoles, the laptop and a big box of junk food.

I am really excited about graduation tomorrow. I've never been to any of his graduations where he gets a new patch before. I hear the demonstration is awesome. I find it funny that he feels like he has to remind me to bring a camera. I take tons of pictures, I just never post them! I am not looking forward to security. Apparently when a General's son is graduating all the Generals that live close by also attend but it makes getting into the ceremony a nightmare. At least I don't have to drive on-post. I'm told that's one of the worst parts.

Then...it's Hawaii!!! It's finally real! Everyone kept asking me if I was excited and I was, but not knowing when you're leaving makes it that much further away. We can be there no later than one month from Thursday! In a few weeks I'll be laying on the beach trying to figure out where we're going to live. I guess we could always pitch a tent. So now it's the mad scramble to get things done but my husband will pretty much be useless at least through the weekend.

On another note...ever since I was shunned by a few of the neighbors for not having kids, I stopped trying to make friends on our street. So new people moved in and I made no attempt to talk to them. Our neighbors across the street probably moved in about 4 months after us and we've said hi once. Our neighbors next door to us expressed interest in getting together but we just do our daily greetings. They pick up our mail when we go out of town. And we got brand new neighbors behind us. They moved in while I was in Texas. I never said hi and slowly it passed that point in time where you can introduce yourself as a new neighbor. But I figured, who cares? I'll be out of here in a little bit anyways.

Yesterday, I was cleaning the stove. It's got this layer of what looks like paint that forms every time you turn the burner on. We started cleaning it when we first moved in but we figured out there was no point in cleaning it if it would only form again the next time I used the stove. And keeping up with it, did not make it easier to clean. So I have spent the last 5 days cleaning the stove and so far I have 1 clean burner. That's with spending 2 hours per day scrubbing. Anyways...

I'm scrubbing the stove and going back and forth between the stove and the sink and I see moving trucks in front of the house of the neighbors across the street. I watch my neighbors sitting in their driveway on coolers and trunks for about 1-2 hours before I realize, I have folding chairs I can bring over. I bring them over and tell them if they need anything during the move, to not hesitate to ask...something I should have asked 6 months ago when they moved in. I told them I felt their pain since we'll be doing the same thing in a few weeks. So we ask where the other is moving and we're both moving to Hawaii! We talk for a little bit and realize we've both been shunned by the neighborhood even though I thought she had an in with a toddler. We both like to take walks and wanted walking partners but sadly walked alone for these 6 months. She stayed couped up in her house and I stayed couped up in mine. It was truly sad. Then I ended up talking to her husband for about 30 mins and couldn't figure out why we hadn't hung out before this. So I gave them all my info and hopefully we'll link up in Hawaii.

Of course, then I decide I'm going to talk to all the neighbors who haven't excluded me. The one next door invited us to a BBQ they're having at their house next weekend. The one behind me thought they were the only ones in the neighborhood without kids and have pretty much stayed to themselves. We plan on doing dinner before we leave. Craziness. So this is why I try so hard at the beginning and try to make friends with basically anyone who will talk to me. Because somewhere there are people who want to be my friends, I just have a tendency to choose the wrong ones until we're getting ready to leave.

So as I tell myself every single time we PCS...the next post will be different! I'm looking forward to it! And now to finish cleaning up so dirty Rangers can come in and destroy my house!