Back to Life

We have returned to a life of normalcy here, at least for the most part. Alan has gone back to work, anyway, and Pippa and I are resuming our domestic routine. We’re unfortunately still short one vehicle, so while Alan is on post, Pippa and I are limited by walking distance and the weather. On the plus side, the latter has been beautiful this week. Alan did get the taxes done already, so now we’re just waiting for the IRS to start processing returns on the 30th. Since we used Turbo Tax we’ll get our refund almost right away and then the IRS pays Turbo Tax. And since we had Pippa last year, we get a pretty decent amount back regardless of the fact that most of Alan’s income last year wasn’t taxable because he was deployed. The point is that we’ll be able to fix the PT Cruiser and have two running cars again.

I should also be able to use some of it to buy clothes for Pippa for the spring and summer. We ordered snap-on extenders for her onesies, because they’re not tight, just too short, and I really don’t want to have to buy more winter clothes at this point.

I mentioned in my last post that I was trying out for "Les Miserables" on post. Well, they couldn’t secure the rights, so they’re putting on "Legally Blonde" instead. The audition went well, and the director is super nice. I sang "Caledonia," one of my favorite songs, and he said I had a really pure alto, like Norah Jones, but sombre. He also said that it was clear I had been trained to sing and perform because of my diction and breath control. And he ended up casting me as Pilar, one of the main Delta Nus in the musical and one of Elle’s best friends. Along with Serena and Margot, Pilar pops up throughout the musical as a member of the "Greek Chorus" to advise Elle in sticky situations. They also get some great dance numbers, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. We have rehearsals Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from now until March, when we have our performances.

I have to say, Alan’s been great stepping up to get Pippa fed, bathed, and off to bed on the nights I’m not home. I’m really hoping that we don’t run into any issues with scheduling since we’re still sharing a car. We interviewed babysitters last week for the ball, so I’m sure one of them could deal with any time overlaps, but that doesn’t solve the car issue. Still, it shouldn’t be too much longer with this sharing thing.

I’ve been a little upset about Pippa’s birthday coming up. I wanted to make it special, not for her, because I know she won’t remember it. But I wanted to share her awesomeness with my friends and family. And now no one is really going to be there. Molly is leaving for Hawaii that week and Cassie still has to get back to me about when they’re leaving for Illinois, but it’s supposed to be pretty soon. I know Tim had to get a waiver to leave before May and it could be as early as February. His replacement is already signed in at Ft. Carson. I don’t particularly like Erica, but I suppose I could invite her, Nathan, and Brayden. Charlee and Kelby. Kellie, Ryan, and Laila. Heidi and Justin; Dugta and whatever his name is because I focus so much on pronouncing their last name that I can’t remember his first name. LOL. Heather, Chris, and Blake. Story and Alex maybe. Dan and maybe the girl he’s seeing if she’s not a complete loon. And maybe some of the people from the show, if they’re not psychos. Getting to know some of them, so far they aren’t. But I do still have to check the show schedule to see when our performances are. I may have to adjust when I wanted to have it based on that.

I’ve been absolutely STARVING lately. It’s insane. I’m like a bottomless pit. I even woke up last night because I was hungry. Got up, ate, went online a bit, and then got sick. And it’s a little scary because two summers ago I was freakishly hungry all the time and a week later I found out I was pregnant. So that’s terrifying because I’m on birth control and I really don’t want to be pregnant. I do NOT want two under two. No thanks. But if that’s how it plays out, I guess that’s how it plays out. It would just suck hardcore and I’d probably think about some therapy because that’s a lot to deal with. I’ll keep you up to date on that one. I should know within the week. It doesn’t bode well that I haven’t had any spotting this past week and I’ve had spotting the week before my period for the last three months. So fingers crossed on that one.

Anyway, Pippa’s interest in playing by herself is waning and I’m hungry once again. She probably will be too in a little while. So that’s all for now.

~Liz