Can't wait to get out of the southwest.

In the past decade, I've lived in many parts of the country, and each was so different.

I became a soldier, and a land surveyor, in the Ozarks. The mountains were beautiful, the grass was green, and in the winter, the snow was fun to play in. Hammering surveyor's stakes into the rocky, frozen ground, made me strong, and road marching up and down the hills through all kinds of weather built strong character, taught me that I can do anything I really am determined to do, and are among my most cherished memories.

I served in a Combat Heavy line company in Central Texas. It was among the most beautiful places I have seen. It wasn't as green as Missouri, nor as hilly, but creeks and rivers cut through the small hills, and there were lakes to spend weekends at with friends. There were springs, and trees to swing off of from a rope. It was close enough to Mexico to have really good food, and that it was handy to speak Spanish, but far enough away from the border that it still felt like the United States.

Then there was Georgia, which was 10x as green as Missouri, with tall pines and cypruses, and swamps that bloomed in every color imaginable in the spring time. Sure, we were an hour from anything, but the drive there wasn't bad. We could drive through the crop fields to Vidalia, down the coastline to Brunswick, or through the swamps and salt flats to Savannah. It was very Old South, which could get difficult at times for an interracial couple, but mostly, it was an easy place to live after we got used to the horrible duty assignment that Ft. Stewart is.

Then we moved here. This is a cool place to visit, but after being here for a month or so, it's just brown, and ugly, and depressing. We are in a big city, but if we have to do anything in another city, we are at least four hours away from the nearest. For a big city, El Paso has very little because it's so poor, and for many products or services, the only way to get them is to go to Odessa, Midland, or Lubbock. They are 4, 5, and 5 hours from here, respectively. It's not just the drive that's prohibitive, but what the drive consists of. It's not like there's civilization anywhere along the way. It's like you drive 4-5 hours through the desert, amid absolutely nothing, and you better fill up with gas before leaving town, bring plenty of food and water, and hope nobody has to go to the bathroom, and if they do, you better hope it's not warm enough for rattle snakes to be out, because there's nothing but roadside, desert, cactus, and joshua trees as far as the eye can see. It's depressing. It makes you not want to go anywhere, because everywhere you go is a million miles away, and the route there is all the same... rocky, desolate, and brown.

Yesterday, we went and got Thak's motorcycle in Lamesa, which is right between Odessa and Lubbock. Northwest Texas is pretty. It's plains, more midwestern than anything... small towns along the way, dotted with the occasional oil field, and oil millionaire's mansion. Aside from the oil, it's very Wizard of Oz. If there were a way to transplant Ft. Bliss to Lubbock, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

It's nice to go to other parts of Texas, which actually feel like the US, and NOT the southwest. It is extremely hard to go back home after being back in the US again for the day. It's nice to hear English spoken in an American accent, and seeing women who wear clothes that fit, and don't shave their eyebrows off and draw them with a pencil the way southwestern women do. It's nice to see white people. That may sound racist, but literally, 9 days out of 10, the only way I see a white person is to look in the mirror. It's nice to see only models of cars sold in America, and to share the roads with people who learned to drive in this country, and don't act like complete idiots behind the wheel. Not seeing a single Mexico license plate all day long is awfully nice, and only someone who's lived on the border for a while can truly appreciate that.

This may be the one place I have truly been counting the days until we leave. Ft. Stewart was a bad assignment because of the nature of the mission, and the post itself, but Georgia wasn't a bad place to live. If we could have lived there minus the constant deployments to the most God-forsaken places on the planet, and the crappy housing policies, then it would have been great. I have hated duty stations, but never the PLACE itself, until we came here. Ft. Bliss is actually not a bad duty station, or it wouldn't be, were it not located in the deepest pit of hell.

We only have a little over a year until we're done here. We discussed what it would take for us to stay if someone offered Thak a really good job in town, and we really couldn't think of anything that would make it ok to continue living in this land of brown landscape, ugly people, and rudeness. The closest to here I'd ever want to live is Odessa, although Lubbock would be better because Odessa is still really brown. It's at least not as poor as this place because of the oil fields. We're probably not staying in Texas, but our logic is to close no door until we're established in the private sector, so yeah, there's some possibility we may end up in Texas for the long haul. In all honesty, I would hope that it is not west Texas of any variety, though. It's too spread out, too desolate... too brown.

Thak graduates in 15 months, and then we can leave. He's begun pushing for a medical discharge so that he can get out of the Army sooner, then switch to day school instead of nights. If he gets that to happen for him, then we could be out of here before 2010 is out. I can't wait. Every time we have to leave El Paso, and face an all day trip just to go get something in the next town, it just wears down my patience for this shithole just that much more.

Stunning Saturday, one day early

I'm doing Stunning Saturday one day early, since tomorrow, Saturday, we're taking a road trip to pick up Thak's motorcycle, five hours away near Lubbock.

Anyhow, without further ado, today's Stunning Saturday feature is on vintage-inspired, pin-up style clothing!!

The clothes at the mall are mostly boring. The stuff at the vintage stores usually fits funny and is in iffy condition. Designer clothes are expensive. Plus, it seems like those of us in our late-20's are in a weird spot when it comes to fashion. Dressing out of the Juniors' department is ridiculous, but the Misses' clothes mostly would better suit someone 10-20 years older than us. With all this working against us, what are we to do?? Shop retro!! You can't go wrong!

My favorite website for this style of clothing is www.pinupgirlclothing.com . Their prices aren't bad, and everything I've ordered from them (primarily dresses and lingerie) has been excellent quality, and looks great! The best part about this site is that if you're anywhere but the west coast, you'll probably be the only one in your city with whatever items you get from there! The site, I'd say, is well-known enough that it's hard to get certain sizes but still obscure enough that you are nearly guaranteed not to be one of three at the party with the same dress.

{{Tip on getting your size: If you're like me, and need an X-Small, your best bet is to get in before each season and pre-order your stuff! The X-Smalls sell out fastest!! This goes 100 times for swimwear. It seems like the bigger sizes stick around quite a bit longer, but X-Small-Medium need to at minimum, follow the brand's official information on Twitter or Facebook so that you can order on the first day that the new season's stuff is released, and at least consider pre-ordering. If you don't, you may end up on a waiting list, and never get what you want. This is the story of my life with swimwear. I should take my own advice sometime, really... I'm just too indecisive to commit to just one swimsuit because they're all so great. Oh, and the size chart runs big. By the chart, I'm between XS and S, but an XS is almost too big for me. Order the smallest size you think you can wear, and God help you if you're thinner than I am.}}

Now, let's talk about shoes. I do not generally buy shoes from this or any retro site, because most of them are available other places for far cheaper. In fact, the red shoes that go with my two favorite Pin-up Couture dresses, I got at Target, on close-out sale, for about $8 three years ago. An identical pair of shoes sells for $45 on the site. Nobody can tell that my shoes are cheap, or that they are half a size too big (hey, if you are paying $8 for shoes, you can't be choosy!) I get countless compliments on them. My black shoes (no, not my BCBG stilettos) that go with some other things I have from there, I got on sale at Macy's for about $30. The nearly identical pair on that site was listed at $120. It pays to look around for shoes before shelling out the money for the ones from the site. Sometimes you can't avoid it, and that's really the only place you can get what you're looking for, but many times, there are other, far cheaper, options.

The really cool thing about this style of clothing is that just about anyone can wear it. Yes, the fabrics can be unforgiving, but that is nothing a waist cincher can't help you with. The fact is, they sell these dresses in sizes XS-2XL, and in my honest opinion, they look equally good in every size. The only truly important thing is to have a very nice waist, and again, if nature didn't hook you up with that biologically preferred .70 waist/hip ratio, Frederick's of Hollywood certainly can.

The bottom line is that anyone can wear this style of clothing, and have fun with it! Pin-up is hot these days. Things that were old are new again. Especially for military wives or girlfriends, what could ever be better than channeling the pin-up style of wars past, but in our own new way? Give it a try! It'll make you want to plant a Victory Garden, and go meatless on Mondays!!

Now, here are two of my favorite Pin-up Couture dresses:

BIIIIIG Texas rainbows!! This one went all the way to the ground on both sides, pretty much spanned our neighborhood. It was a double on one side. Look hard at the second photo, and you'll see that there are actually two rainbows there.

My husband bought WHAT??

Thak bought a motorcycle. It is a 1985 Honda Shadow 1100VT. He's wanted one like this forever, and he got it for a really good price. It's right here in West Texas, too. We have to go pick it up next weekend.

It'll pay for itself in 3-4 months with how much gas we'll save (when you normally drive a Dodge Ram, and then switch to a motorcycle, the difference in fuel expenditure is drastic!) and as long as he promises to NEVER EVER ride it on the freeway, or in rain or sandstorms, then it doesn't freak me out too badly. It's a nice bike, fits Thak great... it's like the ultimate in Asian redneck awesomeness.

The pic isn't our exact bike, but it's identical to it.

A bed for Orren.

I noticed yesterday that Orren has gotten too tall for his crib. He climbs everything that's chest height for him or lower, and I noticed that the crib rail was right about chest height for him yesterday when he woke up from his nap. It was only a matter of time before he would climb out of his crib and get hurt. The mattress was set on the lowest notch, and the side was up as high as it would go, so there was no prolonging the crib use even though 13 months is very early for him to start sleeping in a bed.

Today we went to a local mattress store, and bought him a nice firm twin sized set, and then some cute bedding from Target, along with a rail. He's sleeping in his big boy bed now, went down without a problem. He's ready for his big bed. He looks tiny in it, though. I can't believe how fast he's growing up.

Here's a pic of Orren's room with his big boy bed. Those who have seen his room in person will notice that we switched his bed and dresser. It was Thak's idea, but I think it's nice this way, too.

Stunning Saturday: first one

My friends are always telling me that I know the best stuff. Personally, after spending nearly five years in backwoods Georgia, and now the past year in desert bordertown hell, I can feel my coolness slipping by the day, but hey, as long as people are still asking me for the latest trends and tips on the hottest gear/shoes/drinks/songs, I guess I haven't completely succumbed to the suck. So here's a new idea. So many bloggers have "Works for me Wednesday", or similar things, so I'm trying out "Stunning Saturday" (or as Thak would say, "Studly Saturday" if any of it pertains to Orren), in which I'll share a tip for something I find completely awesome.

Today's Stunning Saturday feature is on cloth diapering, specifically, how to get started if you're on a budget! Cloth diapering is so hip these days. How can it not be? Gen Y makes covers so fun and stylish that they would make even the most die hard disposable diaperer convert in a hurry. Bum Genius makes diapers so easy that even daycares are willing to use them. The diapering options are limitless, and pretty freaking amazing, and it's all because it's become very popular among parents in the know, especially in major cities. It's very fair to say that cloth diapering isn't just for po' folks and hippies anymore.

As the lone cloth diapering mom among my friends, I'm always asked how much it cost to get into it. I hate answering that question because I own about 8 dozen diapers, 3 dozen of which are ridiculously expensive. In all honesty, someone could get into cloth diapering for a fraction of what I spent (which, I will reiterate, is still drastically less than what disposables would have cost!) Thak was deployed and past the 12 month mark when I bought most of our diapers, so we were not really on a budget when we bought ours. At our new post, a great many people do not deploy, and those who do certainly don't do it much, so the cost of getting started in cloth diapering is prohibitive to some. This is totally understandable, and it's not a reason not to use cloth. There are budget-friendly ways to get started!!

The easiest and cheapest way, I'd say, is to buy used. Let's get it clear right now that used cloth diapers are not nasty. They come clean after every use, the majority of stains will bleach out just by putting it in the sun for a day, and there is really absolutely nothing nastier about buying used cloth diapers than buying used baby clothes at your local children's consignment. There. Now you know. Used dipes are good. I would say the best way in which they're good is price. If you go on diaperswappers.com, the best-known site for used cloth diaper exchange (buy, sell, trade), it is common to see very elite brands of pocket diapers which retail for as much as $35 per diaper, listed there, gently used (looks new to me!) for $5-10. The more mid-grade brands, which maybe retail for $20 per diaper, are even cheaper.

There is also Craigslist. This is kind of a shot in the dark, but I have found some truly great deals on there. In fact, I found one right here on my side of El Paso just this morning. If I needed any more diapers, I'd have jumped right on this deal. It was a mom whose babies were done with diapers for good, and she was basically selling off her entire huge collection dirt cheap. This, for a parent who's thinking of getting into cloth, is a goldmine. Granted, there won't be this type of thing on Craigslist every day, but keep looking, and maybe you'll find one! Better yet, place a "wanted" ad, and call all the cloth diapering mommies out of the woodwork to sell you their babies' outgrown dipes at deeply discounted prices!!

The coolest thing about this is that prices are always negotiable. We cloth diapering moms are always very eager to help anyone use cloth, whether they're doing it right from the start, or making the switch somewhere down the line. I've loaned out diapers to friends who were wanting to switch so that they could have some to tide them over while they bought their own collection, or saved up the money to do so. When it comes time to sell my huge collection of diapers (which will probably grow with the next baby, even though I keep telling myself it won't), I can tell you that it will be more important to help someone get into cloth than it will be to make money off of them. Honestly, I'd rather give them away for free to someone who will really use them, and has an actual need for them, than I would to sell them to someone who's iffy. I have found that a great majority of cloth diapering moms are the same way. We want to help you get into cloth, so if the price of something is too high for you to pay, offer what you CAN pay. You might be very pleasantly surprised to find that your offer will be accepted more times than not.

So in short, this week's Stunning Saturday tip is for would-be cloth diapering moms on a tight budget, who feel trapped in the Pampers aisle. Buy used! You'll be a proud cloth diapering mommy in no time flat, and your wallet will thank you.

I leave you with this parting shot of my West Texas clothesline, full Indian cotton prefolds, my own budget-friendly option.

Sharing and mechanical bulls

So we had to have a lesson on sharing today. Orren has been playing chef a lot, grabbing the toy pots and pans, and stirring them around with the toy mixing spoons and ladles. He loves it. It's his new favorite game. Well, there's this one red ladle that he and Erin both love, and Erin has become kind of a bully over it. Whenever Orren has it, she just comes up and snatches it from him. Of course, as one would expect, he screams and does not understand why mean old sissy took his ladle.

Of course, Erin's take on this is that Orren isn't sharing, and he's already had his turn. Fair enough if you're preschool-age or older, but at 13 months, sharing does not exist. Of course, at 6 1/2, understanding does not much exist, and Erin retaliated to being made to give Orren the ladle back, by throwing his favorite book, Touch and Feel Tractor across the room. She was then sent to her room for five minutes, and then once again, snatched the ladle from Orren, and then totally blew off the explanation I gave her of why that still wasn't ok. (OK, so it wasn't ok 5 minutes ago. Why would it be ok now? You think a timeout is advanced payment on a free pass for bullying your baby brother?) Of course, she replied by saying that she hated sharing, that it was the stupidest thing ever, that she didn't want a baby brother anymore, and of course, that it all would be better if we'd just had a girl baby instead of a nasty stinky stupid boy. Gotta love first grade girl logic.

Anyhow, after keeping her off her brother for about 15 more minutes, they've both forgotten about the ladle, and are now playing happily with Legos, and a radio that is driving me nuts (but I'm letting it slide. Even annoying, crappy, polytonic music, reminiscent of cell phone ringtones from 10 years ago is better than the screaming.)


Now, to balance the bad with the good, here's the funny Erin story of the day:

Erin walks into the living room, and asks me straight out of the blue, "Mommy, have you ever ridden a mechanical bull?"

Well.... I was once young, single, and stationed in Texas. Of course, that meant bars, and bars in Texas mean mechanical bulls. So yeah, I've ridden a mechanical bull probably close to 100 times. I freaking love me some mechanical bull!!

I looked at Erin kind of like she was crazy, and said, "Yes, I've ridden a mechanical bull before. Why?"

To which she replied, eyes wide with admiration, "Mommy, that's so cool. I can't believe you rode a mechanical bull!"

I wanted to ask her how she knew what a mechanical bull was, but honestly, I was just kind of liking the fact that she wasn't talking back or having an attitude, so I left it alone. My kid thinks I'm cool because I have ridden a mechanical bull. Unconventional, yes... but I'll take it!