Odds & Ends Part XXIII

I'm pretty sure that I've done odds and ends at least thirteen times, maybe more.  Bear with me, friends.  This is one of those posts.

And now, for the bullet points:

• Please give us a thought and a prayer this week.  In some doubtlessly drab government building in Millington, TN a bunch of important Navy people are looking over Hans' record and deciding, for the third and final time, if he's fit for command or not.  Let's hope that this time around, these are smart Navy people and not the kind of Navy people who keep picking drunk, fist-fighting, crew-abusing, adulterous, other-ship-hitting dumbasses for command.  Please let them be smart, please let them be smart, baby Jesus.
• OK, so anyway.  Having said the above, Hans and I have made peace with whatever decision the board comes up with (do they use dice?  do they throw bones?  read tea leaves?) and will be happy either way.  All right, we will admit that we will be 8.3% happier if they award him command.
• So, what's going to happen, you ask?  Well, if he does get command, they (the Navy demi-Gods) will assign him a ship at some point and he will have to go back to school where they will teach him not to drink, fist-fight, scream at his crew, sleep with his crew or hit other ships.  Seriously, though, he'll have to go back to school.  There's also a slight possibility that he might have to "fleet-up" and go do an XO tour AGAIN and then become CO of that ship.  I am hoping that this is not the case because I think his current XO tour is starting to wear a little thin...
• If he does NOT get command, we pull the trigger and decide our next duty station, like...immediately.  He is done on the current ship in March and so we'll need to roll.  Where will this next duty station be?  We aren't sure yet.  Stuttgart is on the table.  So is Colorado Springs.  Newport has been considered.  We just do not know.
• When will we know what's going on?  Great question.  Hopefully by Friday, but then again, this is the NAVY we're talking about and so don't count on Friday.  We will let you know as soon as we do.
• If NO, we do one more tour and then he will probably retire.  Wow.
• So, you kind of see how this week is a big, big deal in terms of life changing for us. By the end of the week, we'll know if we're going on or doing one more (extremely liesurely and fun) tour and then heading home.
• God is in charge.
• OK, moving on:  I've decided to become a coffee person.  I have the Keurig and it was gathering dust in between my random cups of chai tea.  I've been, ahem...gathering some poundage around the middle and read about the link between artificial sweetners (such as those found in diet pop) and decided now was the time to try coffee.  I'm having a cup right now.  I will report back on whether the poundage magically melts away.  I didn't think I'd like coffee this much, but I do.  I like coffee.  Weird.
• I must recommend a new facial scrub...Yes to Blueberries Anti-Aging.  Try it.  You'll like it! 
• Aging is weird.  Along with the middle-poundage, I'm noticing that I have less eyebrows.  What?  Weird.  Just thought I'd share.  I have to use a brow pencil.  Hopefully I'm subtle with it and don't look like Phyllis Diller.
• We have our Christmas tree up and presents beneath.  We set a cap this year for spending this year, so each child has two gifts beneath the tree.  Trip to Minnesota = big gift for all.  Sorry, 3-year-old if you can't quite grasp that, but I promise that you will enjoy the two gifts I've picked out for you.
• I am having the kids each pick out a small gift for each other.  I took Annika to Target yesterday and she scored--found perfect gifts for her brothers, one at the price limit of $10 and one for $4.99.  That's my little bargain shopper.
• Speaking of bargains...all teachers involved in my children's lives this year are getting Yankee Candle products--they have had some seriously great coupons out this year.  I bought two large jars and got two large jars free (hello, grade school teachers) and I bought one reed diffuser and got one free (hello, preschool teacher and helper).  Yay for free stuff!
• I have been keeping track of my coupon savings this year (minus stuff like the Yankee Candles), as of 12/3 I have saved $861.19 using coupons.  I missed a receipt last month that's still making me mad, because it was over $35.  2013's goal is to hit $1K.
• The kids are all good.  Josiah has a friend just across the street that he's been playing with a lot, so he's busy.  Annika has a little friend across the street as well--they're just getting to know one another.  Her name is Iris and she's in kindergarten, so a little younger.  Sweet kid.  I hope Annika doesn't corrupt her too much.
• William is moving up to the 3-year-old class at the start of 2013.  He is writing.  Yeah.  Three weeks ago, he knew a few of his letters by sight, now he knows all of them AND he's writing.  It's insane.  I credit the iPad and his LeapFrog alphabet toy that encourages writing.  He knows lowercase letters people!!  Now if I could just get him totally pottytrained.  Anyway--he's moving up...he needs to be with peers.  Most of the kids in his 2-year-old class are barely two.  There's a big difference between just-turned-two and three.  HUGE.
• I want Christmas dishes.  There, I said it.  Fiesta Christmas dishes.  I have no idea why...I am a De For by marriage only and yet...I want them.  Maybe after Christmas, on sale.
• It's still 60 degrees here during the day.  I'm looking out the window at my blooming roses.  Will I ever wear a down-filled coat again?
• Our anniversary was pretty low-key.  Hans ordered flowers for me (NEVER, DO NOT EVER USE 1-800-FLOWERS) and the delivery person stopped by at 5:02 p.m.  Since we were at guitar lessons, they left a card on the door and didn't leave the flowers.  Now that I know how much they cost, I'm kind of glad they didn't--might as well have left a flat-screen TV out there!  Anyway, Hans called the florist to ask if they were coming back.  Florist turned out to be a very rude sort of personage and said we could come pick them up if we wanted them (though he had paid to have them sent same-day).  A lot of drama ensued with phone calls to 1-800-FLOWERS and eventually they got a new florist to make an arrangement for me and bring it out on 11/30.  It is lovely, but truly, please do not use their service.  That is my public service announcement for today.
• OK, time to wrap it up.  We are headed to the clinic to have a wart removed from William's foot.  He is strangely excited to go to the doctor.  I hope that it isn't painful...it's kind of a big, ugly wart, though it doesn't seem to hurt William any.

Tschuss!