That's a LOT of Sand!

I TALKED TO DWAIN TODAY!!! What a perfect Saturday! Tim and I have been laying around most of the day, but I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. I got a call from an "Unavailable" number this morning, which I didn't answer because I didn't know who would be calling me. Turns out, it was Dwain! Dangit! I wish I could go back in time and answer that call. Oh well, I chatted with him on Facebook, and I know that he talked to Mom and Dad for quite a while. There is nothing better! He is back at the main base over there, which has internet access. Haven't heard much, but I would expect that he is doing fine. He says that he has gotten all 51 Care Packages now, minus a few who have gotten lost along the way. He thinks that they will find him eventually. Let's keep them coming! He says "THANK YOU" for all the packages. I bet it must be like Christmas to get a Care Package from home. He also posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook of his travels so far -- Let me tell you what, that's a LOT of sand. It is so good to hear from him -- Totally makes your day, that's for sure.

This is one of the pictures he uploaded to Facebook -- So serious

Yesterday was also a pretty great day. Fridays are always my favorite day of the week because they are a half day at the office for me, I get to wear jeans to work, and obviously, they are the last day of the work week. I had another full day of massages, but I was done at the office and headed home by about 2:00. I always have to stick around a little while to visit with Sammie, and I had Pete give me an adjustment before I left. One of the best things about working in a chiropractic office is that I can get adjusted anytime I feel like I need it, which has been pretty often here lately because I've been so busy.

I went home through Cannelburg so that I could stop at the processing plant to pick up our beef. Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Marvin gave us a quarter of beef, so we only had to pay the processing fee and we got all the beef that Tim and I will use in a year. It's so great to be a farm girl, and to have beef farmers for grandparents. I hurried home because Mike from Hamilton's Water was coming to the house. We are getting a water softener put in on Monday! YAY! No more rusty, orange water! I will be able to do laundry. I will be able to take a shower without worrying about my hair turning orange. I will save a ton of money because I won't have to use a bottle a week of The Works to keep everything clean. I can't wait! We are basically renting to own, so it won't break our bank account to get a really nice one, but it will be ours to take with us if we move or buy a house of our own in the future. I am really happy about this, to say the least. After Mike from Hamilton's left (we chatted for a bit while he was here -- He really liked Dixie), I cleaned out the freezer and put the new beef in there. It's good to have a full freezer again. We should be set for a while, and you can't believe how much it helps out on groceries.

Tim and I decided to go fishing for some Bluegill again last night. We wound up talking to Grandma Teddi for quite a while, but we still caught about 30 or so fish before it got dark. That was plenty to get our bait tank all stocked up. We took the boat out to get to the other side of the pond, but it also kept us out of the chiggers, which I really appreciated. I am just now getting over the last set of chigger bites that I got when we went fishing at Grandma's. I made spaghetti and breadsticks for dinner -- The spaghetti was really delicious, but I burned the breadsticks in the oven. I got distracted and forgot to take them out of the oven. Oh well, the spaghetti was good. I fell asleep while watching The Dilemma, but Tim said it wasn't worth watching so I'm not too torn up about it. Finally crawling into bed was a great ending to a great day.

Now, we haven't done much of anything at all today -- Besides talk to Dwain (YAY!) and I gave Tim a massage (He said he was sore, and I can fix that). Our original plan was to go to Tim's Uncle Randy's tonight for the Poverty Ranch First Annual Mudbug and Gumbo Getaway, which is a seafood cookout and music fest, but it's a long drive and it looks like rain (70% chance of precipitation). Not a good recipe for an outdoor cookout. I think we are going to wait on the rain to pass, then go fishing for a little bit, but I'm not totally sure on that. Tim is napping right now, so I'll know more when he wakes up. I think I'll sick Dixie on him here in a minute. She likes waking Daddy up with wet, slobbery, puppy kisses. And Daddy can't get mad and grumpy when she wakes him up -- Totally different story if Mommy tries to wake Daddy up.

I feel so blessed to have such a great life. I have wonderful friends, the best family, and a man who loves me even when I burn supper in the oven (which happens often, but I'm getting better). I have excellent pets (I love Dixie and Chuck) and a great job. I can't imagine a better life! I have never been so happy. Once I get Dwain home, there is not a thing in the world that I would change. Now, I am going to enjoy the NCIS marathon that is on TV, then wake Tim up so we can go fishing. I hope you all have a great weekend!    :^)

Operation Saheeb -- Two Months, Two Weeks

For those of you who don't have Facebook, here are some of the pictures of Dwain's Afghanistan Adventure -- or as he calls it, ASScrackistan. He still has his sense of humor, that's for sure.

CAMELS! -- I love camels!

Sweet Helmet Head Little Brother! 

 Those are some nice tan lines too -- Or are you just dirty??

 A sandstorm -- Can you even imagine what that would be like?

Dwain said his name was "Sonic" -- God, I love my brother!