Looking Back...

I can't believe that this year is over! I swear every year just keeps going faster and faster. I remember celebrating last year, we were mid way through the deployment, I was celebrating with my friends in MN and chatting online with B, ringing in the new year (for him). Back then it felt like this deployment would never end, and we would never be able to be together starting our lives.

Now here we are, a year later, engaged, planning our wedding. The end of the deployment/moving out here to Washington was definitely one of the major highlights of the year. Getting engaged was another huge hilight. Also, gaining a new family member because my brother got married last week! The little stinker didn't even tell anybody until afterwards either, but I am thrilled to have Jennie in the family now.

I think B and I are just celebrating by staying in tonight. After work I'm going to stop by Best Buy to pick up this movie he's been wanting really bad, so we'll probably watch that, maybe watch some of the specials on tv and pop a bottle of champagne at midnight!

How are you celebrating the new year? What are some of your favorite memories from the past year?

Wedding Plans

The planning is underway :) We've got the dates, April 1st for our courthouse ceremony, and July 8th for our reception. By next week I'm hoping to have the venue booked. My mom is currently checking out a couple places in MN and reporting back to me. I have ideas for the reception table decorations, the favors, I saw a dress I liked that I'm going to Portland to try on. I feel like it's all starting to come together.

We decided to do things a little different from your typical wedding. Number one, courthouse wedding then reception, which seems pretty common for Military couples. As much as I wish I could have all my family and friends out here for my wedding, it will work well for us. We decided to do a later reception, on a Friday night and do hors d'oeuvres and some type of dessert bar. It will end up being a lot cheaper, and it works well for us.

My mom and I have actually figured out a bunch of DIY things we can do to save some money too. I just don't see the point in spending $25,000 on a wedding (which is the cost of most weddings these days supposedly) when you can do it for so much cheaper and still have a classy beautiful event.

The only thing I'm willing to really splurge on is the photographer, because we'll have the photographs forever. The photographer I found that I really like isn't even unreasonable either. I'm pretty much just waiting to book the venue before I start booking everything else.

I'm actually pretty shocked at how well this is all coming together, and how much I really enjoy it! Hopefully it continues to go this smoothly!

I'm Engaged!!!

Really, I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present! Last Thursday, B and I were talking about getting married, we've discussed it several times before, it was somthing we both wanted, it was just a matter of when it would happen. Well he suggests we get married, I thought he was joking at first, and he was like seriously let's get married. I told him that wasn't very romantic, but I would consider us engaged as soon as he bought me a ring.

The next day we went to the mall, went into Zales and picked out a ring! I went in there thinking I would know exactly what I wanted, but it turns out I didn't! I tried on the style of ring I thought I wanted, but I just really didn't care for it on my finger. The minute I put on the one we ended up buying, I knew that was my ring. I'm so in love with it!



Now for all the planning!!!!

Resolutions

Ok so I know it's not exactly new years yet, but I'm starting my resolutions early. Actually right now it's just one. Lose weight. I know I know... I've been saying that I'm going to, but this time I am serious. I was looking through some old pictures and it really got me down becasue I looked great, and much prettier without these extra pounds.

I know it's still the holiday season, so that makes it a little harder, and I'm not going to cut out all the things I love completely, just instead of snacking on cookies, I'll snack on fruit. I have some chicken thawing right now, so I can make a big salad with some grilled chicken for lunch.

I need to go grocery shopping this week,so I'm going to be buying a lot more fruits and veggies instead of processed boxed food. B is going to be in for a surprise, he's not the biggest fan of veggies, but it wouldn't hurt him to eat healtheir too.

I also really want to get a gym membership, I wanted to take Sulley for a walk this morning, but it was pouring down rain, so that didn't happen. The weather makes it difficult to excercise outside becasue you never really know when it's going to start raining.

So here I am making my vow to be healthier and eat healthier. I want to fit into all my cute clothes that are sitting in my closet, I want to feel good about taking pictures of myself, instead of feeling self conscious.

It's been awhile

I've been so busy lately! Between work and traveling home and the holidays getting started, things have been pretty crazy. Thanksgiving was amazing, it was so wonderful to be home with family and to be able to share the holiday with B this year. And as much as he doesn't want to admit it, I think he had a lot of fun and enjoyed being in a family atmosphere. We had a little baby shower for my cousin who is due in January, I can't wait to see pictures of her baby, since it's unlikely that I'll get to meet the little one anytime soon.

We had to leave Sulley and Evie at home with my brother. I was so sad to leave them, it's the longest we've been away from them, but boy were they happy to have us home. Kitty has been extremely rambunctious since we returned. Lately I've been catching her on the counters. She then gets squirted by the water bottle. I'm hoping it doesn't take long for her to learn.

We're slowely getting the house all decorated for Christmas. I put up the tree and what little decorations we have. Today I have an apple cinnamon candle burning so it smells festive in here. After payday we have to go buy some lights, both for the tree and for outside and some more decorations and we should be set.

B and I also already got each other our Christmas gifts. He got me an Artisan Kitchenaide Stand Mixer and I absolutely LOVE it!! Baking is so much more fun now. I love coming up with excuses just to use it. I bought him the xbox he's been asking for. I got a game to go with it, and he's getting a couple more games later when my mom sends our all our presents.

We also did a little gift exchange while we were in Minnesota. We had bought the gifts for my dad, mom and sister and brought them with us to save a little money on shipping. We decided to give them their gifts while we were still there, and my mom gave brandan and I each one of our gifts. It was really nice because my favorite part of Christmas is seeing people open their presents, and everybody loved what we got them. Brandan and I did too of course. He got a Raider's jersey he's been wanting and I got the duvet cover I've been wanting for our bed.

We also started out the holidays with some snow. It's not very common in Washington, and pretty much shut down the area for the few days we had it. Being from Minnesota I found it a little funny, but I also understand that they're just not equipped to handle snow here. I actually enjoyed having a little bit of snow because it just made it feel so Christmasy. Sadly it was all melted by the time we got back from MN, but I hear we might get some more this winter.

All in all, it's been a good start to the holiday season. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm looking forward to starting some Christmas traditions with B.

9 Days

Until We go to Minnesota!!!!

That is all.

Can you tell I'm really excited??

Thank You

Those two words are so simple but mean so much. Today I would like to say Thank You to all of the Veterans out there, past present and future. We are a land of the free because of all of you brave men and women and your selfless act of serving our country. I cannot think of anything I do on a daily basis that is as selfless as that. I am so thankful to know so many wonderful people who serve our country, including my amazing boyfriend B, my brother, my grandpa who is no longer with us, and many many friends. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

And I think it is appropriate at this time to also recognize all of the military families and the daily sacrifices they make. Our soldiers couldn't do it without all of you standing strong behind them. <3

15 Days!

Until I get to go to Minnesota! I'm really excited because I will get to see a lot of my family and friends, plus it will be Thanksgiving which is one of my favorite holidays because of all the food. Of course. And it's also been a long time since a lot of my family has seen B. I just can't wait! It can't come soon enough!!

I Love Today

I love having the day off. Today was the first day in about 2 weeks that I didn't have to wake up at 4:45 to take B to work. Thank God. It felt amazing to sleep until 7. We seriously need a second car, like it needs to be a top top priority. I can't keep driving all over every single day. It's getting so old, and I end up on the road for abot 3 hours each day and I HATE it. Absolutely HATE it. Hopefully B will get some reenlistment money, that would certainly be nice.

Today I plan on doing nothing but snuggling on the couch with my furbabies. I have about 8 shows sitting in my dvr waiting for me that I just haven't had the time to watch. I'm excited to actually catch up on everything today.

Well off to be lazy.

I've been terrible

At keeping up lately. I just haven't had a lot to say. I've been working, B has been working. We hardly get to spend any time together, except for the weekends which we spend running around and hanging out with other people and I still usually have to work. I'm getting sick of it. I want an entire weekend where I don't have to be anywhere or do anything. Unfortunately I don't see that happening in the near future :(

I know I haven't been working at Pier 1 all that long, but I just don't really like it that much. It just doesn't really do anything for me. And I don't particularly care for a certain person I work with. She's kind of rude to me and looks at me like I'm stupid when i ask questions. I hate it. I kind of feel like this job isn't even worth it, for what little I get paid compared to all the extra we spend on gas and all the time apart. Seriously though the gas is getting ridiculous. I filled up that tank 3 times within a week and a half, with each filling be $30+. That is just ridiculous to me.

Whatever, I've just been in a blah mood. I can't wait to go home in a month and see my family and friends.

Thank God

I was getting a little worried about the fact that I bought plane tickets awhile ago to go home for Thanksgiving, and I have this new retail job that requires you to work Black Friday. I hadn't had a chance to talk about it with the store manager, although I did mention it at my interview. Last night when I was working with the assistant manager I asked her what she thought the chances of me being able to get that weekend off were. Her response only made me worry even more.

This morning I went in to pick up my schedule, hoping that the SM would be working. Thankfully she was so I approached her and asked her as nicely as I possibly could, explained that I bought these plane tickets way before I even had this job. She acted kind of ticked off at me, but she gave me the weekend off. I'm not allowed to ask for any other days off this holiday season which kind of blows because I wanted to plan a weekend in Leavenworth in December to see them light the Christmas lights, but oh well. This is the one thing about retail that I hate more than anything, they expect you to give up all your holidays and your life to work some crappy job for minimum wage.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to have a job and to be bringing in some money. But this whole last year while B and my brother were deployed made me really realize how important family is. This is our first holiday season actually together in the same place and I want to have memories of us doing special things together, not memories of me working some crappy job. I don't like working somewhere where they don't think family is important, because it's really important to me. And honestly I don't know when I'm going to have a chance to see my family again. I want to spend quality time with B and make memories with him, but I hate that I always have to work on the weekends and that I'm pretty much not allowed to take time off.

It makes me kind of miss American Eagle back in Minnesota. I know I complained about working there, and some of it really did suck, but the people were always great. I loved the people I worked with. They were all so nice and understanding, and all of the managers were really great, Especially the store manager. She was understanding. The year my brother graduated from OSUT it was right before Thanksgiving and we were going down to Georgia, and she told me I could have Black Friday off since we might not be back in time. She was so understanding and I was so grateful for it. I actually did end up coming home the day before Thanksgiving and I worked Black Friday.

At the end of the day, I feel like money and jobs come and go, but family is always there and you can never replace memories you have with those loved ones. I don't want to miss out on anything.

The Unknown

I'm not going to lie, I'm definitely scared of the unknown. I'm the type of person who likes to plan and organize and always know what's going to happen. I realize the beauty in life is that we DON'T know what is going to happen, but I definitely struggle giving up that control. I've been really trying to, especially since B is about to reenlist. He's decided to go recruiter, which was a decision that really surprised me, but I just want him to be happy with his Army career, and lately he definitely hasn't been that. The physical wear and tear from years of the infantry is getting to him, so it's understandable that he would want to go in a different direction. I support him completely.

Of course with a change in career will come a change in duty station. Now I'm happy here, I love Washington. It's beautiful and green, and even though it rains a lot, I feel a connection to this place. B has been here his whole Army career so far, and is ready for someplace new. I'll definitely be sad to leave this place. For recruiter he gets to put down a bunch of choices of where we would like to go, and it's been kind of difficult deciding. At first he wanted to be near his family which is all out here on the west coast, which I was happy about. I like the west coast, and wouldn't mind staying out here. Now he's changed his mind again, and would rather be near his best friend who has orders for Ft. Benning. So the Florida/Gerogia/South Carolina region is at the top of our list.

Some of the places on our list I'm really not too excited about. And I have no idea what the Army will even do. They may just say screw this list and put us somewhere random. I'm trying not to think too much about it, because I really don't want to be disappointed. It's just a different sort of feeling knowing you can't choose where you live. The Army can tell you at any time where and when to go.

I'm nervous about the future but also excited. I know that wherever we end up it will all be ok because we're together. I just have to remind myself not to overthink things.

Fall

I've decided that fall is my new favorite season. I used to always think Summer was, but I've realized that I LOVE fall. I love apples and pumpkins, and cooking with both. I kind of miss all the leaves turning, but WA is still pretty in all it's greenness. Also, fall is leading up to the best time of the year... CHRISTMAS!! Christmas is my absolute favorite!! I love decorating, and I love buying presents, and I just love everything about the season. I love listening to Christmas music and drinking hot chocolate and egg nog and decorating the tree. B claims that he doesn't like Christmas very much which I think is completely outrageous. I'm about to completely change his mind this year :)

First Day

At the new job. I was actually really excited this morning to go! Even though I had to get up at 4:45 so I could take B into work so I could have the car for the rest of the day. Let me tell you I think Sulley has a harder time with the early wakeup call than me! This little pup is zonked out next to me right now, snoring so loud!

Anyway, it was pretty standard as far as first days go. Did some paperwork, watched some cheesy videos, read over a bunch of stuff and got an in depth tour of the store. I think I'm really going to like working there a lot! Although it's going to be REALLY difficult to maintain my self control and not spend my entire paycheck there!

Military Ball

One of the perks of dating a soldier is being able to do things like go to a Military Ball, pretty much like Prom all over again, only a little less cheesy haha. There happened to be one this past weekend that we went to, and one of B's good friends was able to fly his girlfriend out for the weekend for it so it ended up being a really fun weekend!

On Friday night we had wine night and played the boys in Cranium, I'm sad to say they won... twice. I still stand by the fact that it was a fluke because they somehow seemed to draw all the easy card. One day we will play them again and beat them.

Saturday night was the ball, C (the girlfriend from out of town) and I went for mani's and pedi's in the morning which was so relaxing and nice. There's nothing better than being pampered! Now all I need is a massage and I would be golden!

Anyway, here's a few pics from the ball for your viewing pleasure :)

I GOT THE JOB!!

I am so happy right now!! I got the call a little bit ago and the store manager, Stephanie offered me a position. They're calling back a little later to set up orientation, but I honestly couldn't be happier today!

Also on a side note, it's my dad's birthday today too! Happy Birthday Dad!!!! Love you!!

Still Waiting.....

On a phone call. Had interview yesterday and I thought it went pretty well. I interviewed with 6 other people though, so that had me pretty nervous. Now I'm just waiting for a phone call.. have I mentioned how much I hate waiting? Ya I'm impatient. I'm going to be back at square one yet again if I don't get this job, not to mention I'll feel like a huge failure.

Yay for New Things!

I was feeling a little down about the whole American Eagle thing where they didn't even call me back about the job after I'd interviewed. I mean I have 3 years experience with the company and they are supposedly hiring a bunch of people.. WTH?? Anyway, I'm not going to get started on that.

So I filled out an application at Pier One last week and they called me yesterday and I'm interviewing with them on Monday!! I need to go shopping for an interview outfit though because I have nothing apporpriate to wear. For the American Eagle interview I just wore a cute AE outfit, maybe they didn't like that I didn't wear black pants and heels?? I don't know, that's not the type of company they are, so I wore something cute and classy that I would wear to work.

So tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut and colored (So excited) because it is in desperate need of some help. An inverted bob is cute when you keep it up, but kind of diastrous when it's growing out. So hopefully they'll be able to do something decent with it and I'm also going to get some highlights done, which I haven't had in AGES! I'm one of those weird women who doesn't dye their hair all the time, but I thought some natural highlights would be fun for a change. I'm a little nervous though because I'm going to a brand new salon, and I'm super specific about my hair, I definitely don't trust just anybody with it and you will never see me at Cost Cutters getting a haircut. It's something I will ALWAYS splurge on.

So after I get my hair done I'm going to go over to the mall since it's right next door and shop for an interview outfit! I'm excited for new things, it feels like a fresh start. Even though American Eagle would have gotten the job done and earned me an income, I know that all the things that annoyed me about working there in Minnesota would have followed me here. I feel like I made a fresh start out here in Washington, so a new job is perfect!

Now keep your fingers crossed that I get the job!!

It's Been 9 Years...

I still remember exactly what I was doing that day. Do you? I think it will be one of those events in history where everybody will always remember where they were that fateful day. I was in Middle School, sitting in a computer class. Class had just started and we were all getting started on our assignment for the day when an announcement came over the loudspeaker for all the teachers to turn on their television immediatly. I looked around, wondering what was going on, as my teacher, Mr. Gust turned on the television. About 10 seconds later the 2nd plane hit the other tower and I just remember thinking, did that really just happen?? They were discussing the first plane that had hit one of the Twin Towers when a 2nd one just glided across the screen crashing into the other one. I don't think any of us realized at the time how major this was. I was only 13 at the time though. For the rest of the day, every class that I was in had the television on so that we could see what was happening. Another plane hit the pentagon and another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. More details trickled out throughout the day as we all wondered who would do this to us? Who hated our country enough to committ a mass murder right under our nose and leave our country stunned. It wasn't long after that before we were at war with Afghanistan, specifically the Al Queda and the terrorists responsible for that day.


B hasn't really talked much about his experience of the day, but his 17th birthday was the day before and I think it definitely had an impact on his decision to join the military. He enlisted the following spring.

Now it is 9 years later, and our country is involved in not one but two wars. Today remember what happend at Ground Zero in NYC, pray for all those who lost their lives that day, and pray for their families who have to go on without their loved ones. Pray for all of our troops who are still in Iraq and Afghanistan and pray that they all come home to their families very soon.

To Blackberry or Not... That Is The Question

I'll be able to upgrade my phone in less than a month, and at first I just figured I would get another Blackberry, I mean why not? Mine has done me well these past 2 years, in fact you could say I've had a love affair with my Blackberry. It does everything for me, I get my emails, texts, facebook, I take pictures with it. I had my yahoo messanger on it so when B was deployed I could talk to him any time, any where.

But these days it seems these are not unique qualities to have in a phone. With the rapid advancements in technology, there's a plethora of able devices out there waiting to do my bidding. Unfortunately I won't be getting the phone of my dreams, which is the iphone 4. I have Verizon and not At&t, so no iphone for me :( There are of course the rumors that Verizon will be picking up the iphone but those have been floating around for years so I'm not holding my breath. And I JUST put B on my plan so it's not as if I could even just switch to At&t either. So with that out, I'm left with the all the smartphones Verizon offers me, which is a lot.

One of the phone guys at Best Buy informed me that they no longer carry the Blackberry Storm 2, which is just the updated version to my Storm, which is making me think Blackberry may be discontinuing that model all together. In which case I don't want to have a discontinued phone, that would be setting myself back technologically. So I started playing around with some of the droids. And let me tell you, there are some awesome non Blackberry phones. There's 3 I really like, so I just have to figure out which to get. Lucky for me I have a couple weeks to decide :)

Happy Birthday

to my love!!!

That is all.

I can't sleep

So what do I do? Well I blog of course. Usually I have no problem falling asleep, I'm out like a light every night. But I promised Brandan that I would wake up at 4:45 to make him breakfast because it's his birthday tomorrow so of course I can't fall asleep tonight.

Anyway, I figured I would respond to Maloree's tag. I am to list 7 things about myself, so here goes!

1. I'm a recycling freak. I get really upset if somebody doesn't recycle, and I've been known to dig through the garbage and take recycles out and put them in their proper bins.

2. I'm obsessed with Harry Potter. I know I know that sounds super nerdy and it is, but I grew up with the books and I love them. My mom used to pre oreder them for my brother sister and myself from Barnes and Noble so we would get them delivered to our house the day they were released and I would literally read it in a day. I'm a fast reader haha. I like the movies, but they aren't nearly as good at the books. It is my dream to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, and I've told B that he must take me.

3. I have no idea what I want to do with my life and it terrifies me. I know I have to go back to college eventually, I just hope I have a lot more figured out by that time.

4. I can be really shy, and I always second guess myself, so it's hard for me to make friends. I think that's one of the scariest things about this lifestyle. You never know when you'll be uprooted and moved to somewhere completely new, away from everything you've ever known, and you have to make all new friends.

5. I can't go a day without eating chocolate. It's my weakness. I always have a bag of Dove chocolates in the freezer.

6. I love cooking but I hate cooking for just myself. When I lived with roomates and I only had myself to cook for I rarely made anything, and if I did I made enough to eat for a week. Now that I actually have somebody to cook for I love trying out new recipes and tweaking old ones.

7. It is my life goal to set foot on every continent in the world. I'm at 2 right now, so I have a ways to go haha. I love to travel and I want to see everything, and when I have a family I want to show my children the world so that they can have an appreciation for all cultures and all ways of life.

Well there you have it folks, 7 things you probably didn't care to know about me, but now you know anyway :p

I know I'm supposed to tag people in this, but pretty much every blog I read has been tagged, so I'm just going to cheat and skip that part. Sorry haha.

Now I'm off to try and get some sleep!

Intolerance

I find it sad to read about all the intolerance going on in our world. Specifically in reference to the building of a mosque close to Ground Zero in New York City. Yes, even though 9/11 happend 9 years ago, the wounds seem to still be open and a lot of people think that this mosque is disrespectful. What I find disrespectful is people's intolerance. Yes these terrorists bombed our country in the name of Islam. But really can you consider them good Muslims? I find it hard to believe that their religion teaches hate and violence. Now I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on Islam, I don't even know anybody whose Muslim. But I think to blame the whole Muslim religion for something that some extremeists did is not right.

There are many people who have done things in the name of Christ that are most definitely not Christian. How about the Westboro Babtist Church. They claim that they are doing God's will, but you ask anybody if they think those nut jobs are true Christians and you will likely get a resounding "HELL NO!" I don't think it's fair to punish religion as a whole for something that a small fraction of their religion believes in.

Ground Zero should be a sight of mourning and a place for all of America to remember what happend that day. The mosque isn't even on the sight, and Muslims have just as much of a right to religion as the rest of America. Our country was founded on the basis that ANYBODY no matter what their religion, race, etc will have the same freedoms and the right to practice their beliefs, and I think its hypocritical to say that one group of people is not allowed to do something just because of some extremists. You'd be hard pressed to find any religion that doesn't have extremists. One of the wonderful things about this country is the diversity. There are so many different cultures here and if we all practiced a little tolerance we would see that take away religion, take away skin color, take away culture, we're all just the same.

Now I'm not one to get into debates over heated topics, but I just felt a compulsion to state my opinion today.

Reality

I've gotten my first dose of Army life. Coming here I knew that this would happen, but I guess you can't really be prepared to hear that your friends are leaving. J and K have been friends with B for a LONG time. In fact J and B have been here at Ft. Lewis for their entire Army career, about 8 years, in the same unit the whole time, which is really rare. They're super close, and B is even god father to J's little girl. When I got here they took me in and accepted me instantly. It was amazing and they are awesome friends. They got orders for Ft. Jackson in a year. It's likely that by that time we'll have orders too. It's just strange because I just moved here and it's exhausting to think about doing it all over again. At least we still have a year to hang out, I'm just not looking forward to moving somewhere that neither of us know anybody. At least here B had friends and I met wives of his friends. When we move we'll both be starting from scratch and that scares me. I'm shy and it's hard for me to open up to people.

B goes back to work Tuesday after a long 3 weeks of block leave. He's going to talk to his reenlistment guy and we'll try to figure out what he's going to do. He's still on the fence about reclassing, and if he does reclass the jobs open to him will be limited because of his rank. And if he gets promoted one more time in the Infantry he'll have to stay Infantry for the rest of his career. So we have some big decisions to make. He won't actually be reenlisting until October so we can hopefully get a bonus. I've told him that I will support him no matter what he decides. It really doesn't matter to me whether he stays Infantry or not, I just want him to be happy with whatever he's doing.

For now I have to go feed the furbabies and contemplate the future.

Rainy Days

I love a rainy day because it's an excuse to stay inside and cuddle all day and watch movies. And also play with my adorable dog and kitten. Evie has been especially rambuctious today, running around the house like a wild kitten. Rainy days also make me feel lazy too. I was going to mop the floors and do some laundry and guess how much of that has gotten done? None. Oh well, there's always tomorrow haha. The only thing I don't like about today is the temperature. I realize that rain usually brings a cold front with it, but it is freezing outside! I actually pulled out my uggs and my jacket to take the dog outside. Sad I know, way to send out August. Hopefully September will give us a little bit warmer weather before fall/winter sets in.

Anyway, I'm going to go enjoy my rainy day with some movies and junk food :)

Homemade Salsa

Ever since I've first eaten at Chipotle I have been in love with their fresh salsa, it has such good flavor and is perfect with their deliciously salty tortilla chips. Unfortunately, since moving to Washington the closest Chipotle is about 40 miles away. I've tried buying some of the fresh salsa from the grocery store, but it never tastes the same. One night I got a brilliant idea, why not add a little lime juice to the fresh salsa for a bit of extra taste. And what do you know, it was perfect! So i decided instead of shelling out for grocery store salsa I would make my own!




Homemade Salsa
4 tomatoes, skinned with seeds and juices removed
1/2 a large onion
some cilantro, I just pulled it from the bunch and chopped it up and threw it in.
1 jalapeno. I'm a baby and I don't like it super spicy, just a little added flavor
a couple squirts of lime juice

Voila! The perfect afternoon snack!

Who Knew?

That one of Evie's favorite places to play would be her litter box and that she would be even more of a begger than the dog. I sure didn't haha. It is very cute though. She hots into her litte box and tosses it around with her paws, creating quite the mess. I'm going to have to get a little mat to go under it so I don't have to sweep every time I turn around.

She's also a huge begger. Anytime you get any food out she comes running up to you and sits at your feet meowing and if you pick her up you can bet that she'll try to stick her nose in your food. Yesterday I was sitting on the couch eating some mac and cheese and she was clawing her way up my body and armys trying to get to my bowl. It was ridiculous. The dog doesn't even beg as much as she does.

We took her to the vet yesterday for a little checkup and she weighs all of one pound. She can jump down from the couch and climb up the couch. She hasn't mastered jumping that high but she does grab onto the couch and claw her way up. I suppose when she gets bigger this could be a problem. I definitely don't want my furniture ruined.

We also found, in talking to the vet, that there's this procedure where they do something to the muscles in the cat's paws so that she can't flex her claws anymore. It's more humane than declawing, so it's definitely something we're going to be looking into. Since we're renters, I'm worried about her ruining something in the house if we don't declaw her.

Sulley has been doing much better with her as well. Yesterday they were snuggling together and it was the cutest thing! I have pics on my phone but its being lame and won't let me upload them to facebook, so I'll have to post some cute pics later.

Introducing Evie!

She's a 6 week old kitten that was rescued along with 3 brothers and sisters by my neighbors. Evidentily their mom abandoned them and they were found malnourished under a house. Our neighbors have been nursing them back to health and bottle feeding them from 3 weeks. She is such a darling though! She's super curious and loves exploring our house.

Sulley is very curious about her, but he doesn't really understand that she's too small to play with. He's a little jealous of her too. Last night any time we were petting her and playing with her he would start whining like pay attention to me! I think once he gets used to her they will end up loving each other!

Pink Eye

Yup I have it.. I can't even count the number of times people have asked me who farted on my pillow. Mature huh? I just play along and tell them all that it was B. hehehehe. I discovered I had it Friday night, and went into the doc on Saturday morning. We ended up being there for over 3 hours, I cannot even explain to you how much I detest the doctor, this being one of the main reasons. So after waiting for over 3 hours for them to just say yup it's pink eye, here's some eye drops, we finally got to go home.

We went to Portland Saturday, and were supposed to be leaving around 9 am, but since the doctor took up our entire morning we didn't end up leaving until around 1. It was B's brother's 21st birthday, and his girlfriend hosted a little party for us and cooked dinner. It was the first time I met his brother and it went really well! We took him back to our hotel and we all went to the bar for drinks to celebrate.

Now we're back home all snuggle in on the couch while I catch up on my internet time haha. Sulley sure is happy to be home. He likes riding in the car, and just curls whenever we go anywhere, but he does get nervous being away from home for any lenght of time.

Tomorrow we take B's mom to the airport to send her back to California. It's been a nice visit, but I'm looking forward to B and I getting to spend some quality time together for the rest of his block leave.

Playing the Waiting Game...

I had my interview at AE yesterday and I think it went really well. Now I'm just waiting for them to call me.... I hope they call today and don't keep me waiting!

Good News!

American Eagle called me tonight and they want me to come interview. Well, it's not really an interview I guess since technically I'm still employed by the company since I'm still in their system, I just have to talk with the manager about what I did at my old store. I'm thinking it should go pretty well though because I knew how to do everything at my old store so I think the odds are in my favor :)

A part of me thinks it would be nice to keep staying at home, I don't mind taking care of the house, but at the same time, I need an income. Not because B can't support us, but just because I need a little independence. I hate having to rely on him for everything (financially at least) when we're not even married.

I guess my biggest concern is Sulley, and it may sound stupid because it's not like he's my child or anything, but I hate leaving him alone for long periods of time. We've only had him for a month but he's become so attached to us that he gets seperation anxiety when we leave him and he barks the whole time we're gone. I feel so bad for him. I hope he can get used to his crate and learn to like it.

But I guess I will be a working woman again here pretty soon, which means that I can buy the car I've been dreaming about :)

True Blood

I've heard people rave about this show forever, but since I no longer livedn in my parents house I didn't have the luxury of HBO, so I just ignored my sisters incessant requests that I watch it. Well, now that we have HBO here and season 3 is readily available to me, I have been itching to watch it. On demand they have Season 2 and all the episodes from Season 3 so far, and I'm sure they had Season 1 on there before Season 3 started, but we didn't move in in time. So I was faced with a dilema, do I buy Season 1, having never seen it before? What if I didn't end up liking it? I know I know, unlikely, pretty much every show I've ever watched entire seasons of I've gotten pulled into and ended up liking.

But then it would so happen, that B's mom came back from visiting B's sister in Walla Walla Washington (by the way, I love saying that!) and low and behold, she brought Seasons 1 and 2 with her! I was so excited! Finally I had Season 1 at my disposal and I would understand what all the fuss was about. I hate not being able to watch a show that it seems like everybody is talking about. I don't like being on the outside.

We started watching Season 1 Saturday night when she got here, and continued it through the entire day yesterday. We finished around 7 last night and decided to take a break. Now I'm sitting here and its almost 11:00 am and I'm itching to start Season 2, but of course SOMEBODY (B *cough* B) is still sleeping. I'm about to go ruin his sweet dreams and demand he wake up so that we can watch it :)

Vacation!

Tomorrow is B's last day of work before block leave starts! Woo for 3 weeks there won't be a single day where I have to wake up at 4:50 so I can take him into work. I am so NOT a morning person, so getting up this early is not easy for me at all! And after I'm up, I'm up for the day, so it can turn into a LONG day. We sort of have some plans for block leave, but nothing is set in stone yet. B's mom will be back here next Sunday for a week again, so I think we're going to take her up to Seattle one day to be touristy. And she wants us to go with her to visit her parents for a day, whom I haven't met yet, and it will be nice for B to see his grandparents. I don't think he's seen them in quite a long while.

I also really want to go down to Oregon again. We went to B's dad's over 4th of July weekend and it was so much fun! His family is really sweet and I felt really welcomed there. When we were down there, his dad mentioned that it would be fun for us all to go to Crater Lake at some point during leave, which I REALLY want to do! I've heard that it is absolutely beautiful down there, and I have been dying to do some hiking. We got a book on hiking in Washington, but have yet to go. *sigh* I really want to get out and explore the Pacific Northwest while we're here, since I really don't know how long we will be here.

I'm hoping we can also get to the theater so see some movies too. There are so many out that I want to see right now! I've heard Inception is incredible, so that's very high on my list, along with Eat, Pray, Love, but I need to finish the book first before I see the movie. B has been wanting to see Predators, and of course, The Expendables, which comes out this weekend. Hopefully we'll be able to get to see a couple of them at least.

It's so crazy that when he goes back to work, it's going to be September. Where has the summer gone??? I feel like it was JUST June, and I was just getting ready to move out here, and now all of a sudden it's the middle of August. I feel as though I haven't really enjoyed the summer the way I should be. I'm definitely guilty of not spending enough time outside, but especially since we got Sulley I've been trying to spend a lot more time outdoors. He's still getting used to walking on his leash, he does really good with that part when we're just walking around the yard of our complex, but he gets really nervous when we get closer to roads, so we haven't been able to go on walks yet. I would love to be able to take him out for a walk or jog every morning or evening, so hopefully we can get him used to it.

Hopefully during block leave I can really take advantage of the rest of the summer and enjoy it as much as possible before the rainy season sets in.

I'm getting a little frustrated...

I went into American Eagle over a week ago to talk to them, and they sounded super positive. The manager told me that they are currently hiring, and I'm perfect since I have 3 years experience with the company. She said she would talk to her store manager to see whether I qualified as a transfer or a rehire and they would get in touch with me. So far I've heard nothing, all they had to do was call the store in Rochester and talk to them.And it's not like my old store would have anything bad to say about me. They loved me there, in fact they told me before I left that if I was staying then I would be promoted to Assistant Manager. I don't understand what's taking so long, because now that I have this work mode in my head, I have my heart set on buying a car, and I want to start working so I can make that happen so bad! Not to mention the fact that I've gained some weight since moving here, and a job would keep me busier so that I'm less likely to snack out of boredom. I just want them to call me! If it doesn't happen by tomorrow I'm going to call them.

Jobs

Alright so I really need to get off my behind and get one. I've put it off long enough, and as nice as it is being able to stay at home, I feel like I'm not making a contribution to our household. I feel indebted to B because he pays for everything. At this point in our relationship I don't want to have to rely on him for everything. It makes me feel bad about myself and makes me feel guilty when I want to spend money on something like new clothes. I definitely need my own money, I think it will give me some freedom. And I would be able to get a car because I would actually have money for a car payment.

I have to admit, I haven't put a ton of effort into looking for a job, I have done some searching, stopped into some places I was interested in, none of which was hiring by the way. So as much as I really don't want to work in retail, I think I'm going to go talk to American Eagle about transferring. I mean, it will pay the bills, and the job isn't so bad sometimes, and I'm bound to meet some cool people(hopefully). I lived on my own for two years, paying rent and paying bills, granted my parents did help me out, but for the most part I supported myself.

This whole me beind dependent on B has kind of put a strain on our relationship, and I don't want that. So hello employment! We definitely have some logistics to figure out with only one car right now, especially since B's mom is flying in in a week, but I hope to be employed in the next few weeks!

Working at AE again will be difficult, because I do have a terrible shopping addiction, but I'm hoping to curb that. I just have to stay strong, and put money into a savings account so its not sitting in my checking account taunting me.

Cooking

Cooking has become a lot more fun for me since moving in with B. I've always enjoyed trying new recipes and playing around with them, but cooking for one is just not really fun. There's just something about cooking a big delicious meal for others that gets me, I guess I like the satisfaction of others enjoying something delicious I made. I've been having lots of fun trying out new recipes, and thankfully B doesn't mind either. Some of them have been delicious and some not as much. But I am really excited for dinner tonight. I'm making steak marianated in a Spicy Southwest rub with cheesy bacon mashed potatoes and green beans with almonds. yummmmm :)

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well another year down, I'm officially 22 now! Is it just me or do the years just keep going faster and faster?? It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating my 21st Birthday, and here I am a year later.

I pretty much got the best birthday present ever this year. I was reliving all my 8 year old fantasies, about opening up a present and having a puppy jump out of a box. Not that it happened this way at all. I went to a shelter and picked out a dog and brought him home, but still. Said present is currently curled up next to me snoring. He is just way too cute.

Yesterday we had to take him to the vet to get checked out, because I suspected that his incision from being neutered was infected, and unfortunately I was correct. He also has a little kennel cough from being in a shelter, poor guy. We got him set up with some antibiotics and doggy morphine though so hopefully he'll be feeling better in the next couple of days. I caved last night though and brought him into bed to sleep. He's been really good ever since we got him about sleeping in a crate, he's actually seemed to like it, but last night after I put him in he started wimpering and all I could think about was if he was scared and in pain so I let him out and brough him up into bed and of course the little stinker slept like a baby all curled up in the comforter. It's just too hard to say no to those baby eyes.

I really haven't felt like doing anything around the house today. I think I grew up spoiled, having a summer birthday, I never had school on my birthday and ever since I've had a job I've made sure to take that day off so I could do something fun, so I never want to do any kind of work on my birthday. Maybe it's a little selfish, I don't really care, this is one day that is all about me :) I will eventually get some stuff done, I'm just going to take my sweet time doing it.

Later we're going out to dinner at this awesome Japanese steakhouse down in Olympia. I also hinted to Brandan that an ice cream cake from Baskin Robins would be delightful :) Hopefully he comes through!

I feel so loved from all the birthday wishes I've gotten today. Thank you to everybody who has wished me a happy birthday! You all have succeeded in making my birthday amazing already and it's still only the morning!

Introducing Sulley!

Meet Sulley! He's some kind of Chihuahua terrier mix and he's just a year old and so adorable! I am in love with him! Hands down, best birthday present ever, thanks to my love, B <3 He's super shy and is still getting used to us and our home, but I think he's gonna like it here =D

Dogs!

Well we visited a couple of animal shelters today and saw some really adorable dogs. I wanted to take them all home with me!! I wish I had a huge acreage so I could adopt the all and have them all live with me. I would be like a cat lady only with dogs haha. Anyway we decided not to make any decisions today because theres another shelter we want to check out tomorrow that has a lot more dogs. A lot of the dogs we saw today were on the medium to large side and we would both really rather stick to a smaller one. Hopefully tomorrow we will find a dog and bring it home with us!

Right now I'm cooking dinner. I'm making fried rice and teriyaki beef with sauteed vegetables and garlic bread. It is smelling quite delicious! I better get off the internet and get back to cooking before I burn the house down!

Babies and Puppies!

A close friend of mine had her baby early this morning! I'm so so excited for her, and the baby is so precious! I just wish I could be back in Minnesota to meet her little one, but hopefully over Thanksgiving we'll be able to get together and catch up and I can meet little Adalyn.

More exciting news, last night B and I were just sitting around watching a movie when he turns to me and tells me that we can get a dog if I want. What??! Of course I want! I've been wanting a dog for SOOOO long! I grew up with them and I miss having somebody to greet me when I come home and somebody to snuggle with when I'm sitting on the couch (when B isn't around of course). When we first moved here he said he didn't want a pet because he didn't want to have to pay extra. I'm not sure what brought him around but I am so incredibly excited!! After he gets off work today we're going over to the shelter to see if we can find a dog to bring home. I'm sure we won't have any problems finding one, it'll be picking one out that's tough. I'm going to want to take them all home with me! I'm a sucker for dogs.

He mentioned something about a cat too, but I'm just not much of a cat person. Never really have been. My dad is allergic, so we never had one growing up. I just loves dogs because they're so friendly and loving. You can see the love in their little eyes when they look at you. Since I've been out here I've been missing my parents dogs so much. I saw them a lot before I moved and was really attached to them.

I think today will be a grand day :)

Just One Of Those Days

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you can't do anything right? Thats been my week so far. I just can't shake this mood and I don't know why. Ugh.. I hope things look up soon...

Tragedy

Yesterday something awful happened, my cousin was killed in a gun accident. They think it was an accident, he was playing with his gun, shooting birds and he accidentally shot himself. He was only 14 or 15, I'm not really sure, it's been a long while since I've seen him. It's just so sad though. How does something like this happen? I mean he was so young, had his whole life ahead of him. How does something so awful like this happen? I just don't understand.

My uncle was the one who found him, and I just can't get the image out of my head. I can't stop thinking about what he must have felt, finding him. It was his stepson, but he loved him like it was his own. I can't imagine dealing with that everyday, I didn't even see it and I can't get the image out of my head. I feel so awful for my aunt and uncle. My heart aches for them. What a terrible thing, to lose a child. A parent should NEVER have to bury their child. It's just so wrong.

I feel so helpless being so far away too. My family has been through some rough shit, but we've always been there for each other. Now I'm 1,700 miles away from all of them and I feel helpless. My mom told me not to come home, that my uncle will understand, but I still feel as though I should.

I still can't wrap my head around this. I'm sure it will take awhile, these things usually do.

I know I know

I've been doing terrible lately at keeping up, but it just seems like I don't have as much to write about right now. We're basically all settled in here, there's just some random things we still need to get, but I think we're both sick of running around all over the place, so we've taken to just relaxing when he gets off work, or exploring, like today.
I've pretty much just been playing the part of housewife, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and not that its bad, but for my own sanity, I really need to get a job. I haven't really started hunting yet, but I do have an idea of places I want to apply. I think I'm going to go around and get some applications tomorrow.
Other than that, not a whole lot to update. This weekend we're heading down to Oregon to visit B's dad. This will also be my first time meeting him. Eeek...I'm nervous but excited. I've actually talked to him over the phone before and he seems really nice.
I have also come to the conclusion that I really really really need to join a gym here. I think I have gained ten pounds since I left Minnesota, no joke. Mostly due to the fact that we were eating out so much, and even now, B still wants to eat out a lot. I'm trying to get him to eat at home more, we've bought tons of groceries, and I loaded up on fruits and vegetables. Hopefully with the right diet and some excercise I can feel a little better about myself.
Anyway that's all for now, hopefully I'll have something new and exciting to update about soon :)

Finally Getting Settled

This past week and a half has been a whirlwind! B arrived a couple days after I got here early in the morning. We've pretty much been going non stop since then. We got to spend some time with my family and my brother and my surrogate brother Hamilton, who is my brother's best friend. My parents were just in heaven, having my brother home and getting to meet all his friends, and visit Ft. Lewis to see where he lives.
B and I pretty much started looking for an apartment right away, and realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as we thought it would. We drove around and stoped at different complexes and called tons of places, but it was really difficuld to find a two bedroom place. We looked at a one bedroom, but it was definitely just way too small, plus then theres nowhere for any guests to stay. We finally found a two bedroom townhouse, turned in an application on Tuesday and started moving in Thursday. We've been here for 4 days now, and are finally starting to get things settled. The unpacking and organizing has been a lot more work than I thought it would be. We have most everything unpacked, and I've been working on laundry non stop, but I should be able to get all the clothes organized and put away in the next few days. The couch is arriving today after the boys get off work and it will be so nice to finally have a place to sit down! We have our tv set up and we have cable and internet, but no comfy place to sit down. Tomorrow morning our bed arrives too and I'm so excited to not be sleeping on an air matress anymore!
Its definitely been an adjustment getting settled, and B and I have definitely butted heads a lot in the past week. We're both very stubborn, and we both are so used to being independant and doing things on our own, its hard to learn how to do things together, and make decisions together. Of course I have an idea of how I want things to look and how I want to decorate, and he has something completely different in mind, but we're getting the hang of it. It will definitely take awhile to get used to everything, but I'm so ridiculously happy to be here and have B back. I've dreamed about this for months and months, and even though we've hit some bumps, I wouldn't change anything.

I Have Arrived!

I'm in Washington!! Finally! It is so wonderful to be here! I've really enjoyed showing my family around places that I've visited around here, as well as visiting some new places. We went into Seattle today, my parents were appaled by the traffic on I-5, even though I've told them over and over that it's a lot different than the midwest. We did some touristy things, like going up the Space Needle, which was fun, I've done it once already, but it was fun to do it with them since this was their first visit here. We also went to Pike Place Market which I really liked. My dad wasn't a fan, too crowded for him, but my sister and I enjoyed it immensly!
Now we're just sitting and not so patiently waiting..... I don't think time could move any slower. I'm so anxious for their return. I've been looking up apartments all day, and I have it down to four that I really like and want to look at, so hopefully thats something we can do right away! For now I should get some sleep! Tomorrow will be a LONG day!

The Long Journey

We've made it over 1,200 miles so far! Tomorrow we start the last leg of our journey, thank god, because even though it has been really great to see the country, I'm ready to be done driving!
We left around 7 am on Tuesday morning and drove until about 10:30 last night, so it was a very long day! The west side of Minnesota and most of South Dakota was really boring, but SD got interesting towards the Wyoming border. We made a loop through The Badlands, which was really cool. Its just this desolate area of the state that looks pretty much inhospitable. There are sharp peaks which I am guessing are formed from the strong winds that blow across the plains, and parts of it actually reminding me of the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. All in all, it was very cool to see. We also stopped in Deadwood SD which was pretty cool. A lot of it is still the original buildings, and there are actors that do reenactments in the street, its a little cheesy, but kind of fun to see. We ate at this little steak place that was really good! By the time we finished eating it was almost dark, so driving out of Deadwood, and through the Black Hills was kind of scary in the dark. It felt like we were just going in circles around the hills, but finally we made it back to the interstate. We were planning on driving to Gillette Wyoming before we stopped, but it was getting really late, and my mom and I started getting tired, so we stopped about 50 miles east of Gillette in a little po dunk town called Sundance. It was a good thing we stopped early too, becaus upon checking into the Best Western, we find out there is some conference going on in Gillette and we wouldn't have been able to find a room there anyway. I had intended on making an entry last night, but by the time we stopped and got a room, I was just ready to crash.
When we started out today we were very happy we waited until morning to drive through the rest of Wyoming because it was really pretty. Once we crossed into Montana we stopped at Little Bighorn, where Custer's last stand took place. It didn't interest me all that much, but my dad really wanted to see it, so we walked up to the cemetary and monument, and walked through the museum. Then we made the long trek across Montana. It actually went faster than I thought, especially once we got to the Rockies and had a spectacualar view. We're on the far side of Montana, in Missoula for the night before we finish the last leg of the journey tomorrow.
I think I'm finally letting myself realize that B really is coming home and I really am going to have him back soon. I've been so reluctant to accept it because I'm afraid that the minute I accept that they really are coming home, they will get delayed and I would be devestated. Especially since my parents can't stay out here very long. I'll try not to think of that though! For now I'm going to get some rest before we have even more driving tomorrow.

Leaving

All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go... And I couldn't be more excited!! Its finally happening, this thing that we have been talking about and planning for months and months. I got most everything to fit in surprisingly well, however I ended up having to leave behind my futon, but my mom works for a trucking company that regularly makes trips out to Tacoma, so she might be able to work something out with them.
This whole weekend has just been a whirlwind. Friday night I celebrated my going away downtown at the bars with a bunch of my friends, and it was so much fun to let loose with all these people that I grew up with. It will probably be a very long time before I see any of them again. Saturday was spent preparing for my sister's graduation party, and of course playing with my baby cousin Rowan, who is just a gem. She is just the sweetest baby ever. Then Sunday was the big day. It was so much fun to see my little sister graduate, I'm just so excited for all the opportunites she is currently facing! I remember what it was like to be graduating, and feeling like you're whole life was just starting. I kind of feel like that right now. The speaker they had was this guy who graduated from our school, and is now a famous pastry chef on the food network which I think is pretty cool. He had some really great things to say, and was a very charismatic speaker. One thing that I really liked that he talked about was living outside the box. And thinking about it, I realized that all these people who are living in Chatfield, and staying in this area, never going out and experiencing anything else are living inside the box, and some of them are perfectly content to stay there. This baffles me, becuase I have never been one to be content to live inside the box. I want to travel the world and see everything. This move is giving me the opportunity to live outside the box, moving somewhere I've never lived before. Heading out there without a job or a place to live is kind of a freeing feeling. You only live once, and I want to start taking advantage of this life and exploring all of its possibilites.
I'm ready for anything life throws at me.

In My Life

The Beatles

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

Done

I had my last day of work at American Eagle today, and it was bittersweet. I am really happy to be done working there, and very ready for a break from working for awhile, but I will miss some people a lot. There are some really great people that work there, people I will miss seeing regularly. They could always cheer me up if I was having a bad day, and I could tell them about things that were going on in my life. I am really looking forward to finding a new job though, hopefully something that pays a little more.
I started really packing up my stuff today. I took a full carload of stuff to my parents house already, and last night I sorted through a bunch of stuff and did a lot of organizing. I finally feel like I'm getting something accomplished. My room is starting to look bare, and I'm really excited to just be fully moved out instead of having half of my stuff at my parents and half of my stuff here. Tomorrow I'm going to take a load of clothes up to Plato's Closet and hopefully get some things sold, then everything else is going to Goodwill. It feels good to declutter things, and I guess moving is the best way to do that. I'll probably do some more decluttering when we move again.
After seeing all the boxes I packed up today I'm getting a little nervous about space. I though I was doing really good, but now I'm not so sure. I think I'll have to get some more of those vacuum seal bags for my clothes.
I can't believe that I'm less than 10 days away from having B home with me. I can't believe that we finally get to move in together and start our lives. I'm so incredibly excited and I can't wait to be selfish and have him all to myself. I am so proud of myself for how well I made it through this year, and I think it was a really good test of our love. And guess what, we passed with flying colors! I am even more in love with him than I was when he left, and all of those doubts have gone out the window. I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man, somebody who loves me and always sees the best in me. I can't wait to spend forever with him.

Should Have Known

I don't know why I keep trying to see good in some people when I just keep proving myself wrong. I don't know why I don't just trust my gut and not give them anymore of my time. I think it's because I'm leaving so soon, I'm starting to get sentimental, I can't help but thinking, oh this is the last time I'll be doing this, and this is the last time I'll be going here. Maybe I'm hoping that they'll actually seem sad that I'm leaving? But no, all I get is the same BS, making me feel stupid for thinking maybe people can change. Oh well, it just makes it that much easier for me to be done with everything here and be ready to move onto better things. There are people here of course I will be keeping in touch with, I can't imagine my life without some of them, but there are some that I really don't care to speak with after I'm gone. I'm very much looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends :)

Busy Busy Day!

I feel like I got so much accomplished today and it really feels great! After one visit and three phone calls I finally have my internet and cable again, but I don't think I will ever go with Charter again, after the amount of problems I had with them.
I got all my mail forwarded to my parents house, and my gym membership canceled, and I got some things taken care of with my bank account so I can use it there, even though its just a local bank and I'm almost done with the video for my sister's grad party. It feels good to cross so many things off of my To Do list! I was starting to feel really overwhelmed from it all.
I still can't believe that I leave in less than two weeks. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that I will no longer be living in Minnesota. I don't think it will seem real until after I leave maybe not even until I'm out there in our new place.
Tonight I'm heading up to St. Cloud with my mom and my sister for my sister's orientation tomorrow. I can't believe my baby sister is going to college!! It so crazy! I'm so excited for her though, college will be such an amazing experience for her.

A Little Bit of Everything

So on Sunday my mom and I learned how to knit from a friend of hers. It was actually pretty fun and I caught on pretty quickly, I am now currently knitting my first scarf. I think its a cool hobby because I'm really ADD in the car so it will give me something to do on that 25 hour car drive out to Washington(when I'm not driving).

Yesterday was not so pleasant. Stupid Charter messed up the date that my internet/cable was supposed to be shut off, so they came and shut it off 10 days early. I was not a happy camper, because they told me that they couldn't turn it back on until Wednesday. Not cool, considering the internet is my only form of communication with Brandan right now, and today is our anniversary so I was really upset at the prospect of no internet. So I decided to come down to my parents house, where I am right now so I could have some internet. Boy am I glad I did! Last night Brandan got online and I got to talk to him for over an hour, which is the longest we've talked since his internet was shut off in his room May 1st.

My brother also called and unfortunetly my parents were at my sister's senior dinner at her high school, so I told him to call them since they haven't talked to him in awhile either, but my mom didn't hear her phone go off, even though my brother tried calling her 5 times, so she was really upset when she got home and realized they missed him. And him and Brandan left the MWR about 10 minutes before they got home. So I felt really bad that her night was ruined. But I'm hoping he calls back soon so they can talk to him.

So I stayed at my parents house last night, and somehow today I got roped into mopping the kitchen floor. I'm such a good daughter :) But its ok, because my mom is bringing me home some subway for lunch. yummmm...

Also today I realized that I leave for Washington in exactly 2 weeks!! Holy shit! I need to get my butt moving because I have a lot to get done! Ahh I'm starting to stress now and feel like I won't get everything done. I can't believe that time has gone this fast and that I'm about to leave. I only have a week left of work too! I'm getting really excited about that though because I'm ready to be done and find a job that I don't have to work nights and weekends. That would be absolutely ideal! Anyway I better go call that mother of mine and see when she's bringing home those subs... I'm starving!

Sex and the City

I am so excited for this movie! I am a HUGE Sex and the City fan! SJP is just so fabulous! I can't wait to find out what happens, in the previews it definitely looks like Aiden is making a comeback. I'm not sure how I feel about this though. I loved Aiden while he was on the show, but I don't want Carrie to screw things up with Big. Right now they are having a marathon of Sex and the City on TBS, and since I am a lamo and sitting at home on a Saturday night its perfect! I'm actually putting off cleaning and packing right now. I'm just feeling so lazy tonight so I'll probably just wake up early tomorrow to get some things done before I head down to my parents house.

Tomorrow my mom and I will be having our first knitting lesson. We've been trying to do this for awhile, but it just hasn't ended up working. I really would have liked to start more than 2 weeks before I move, but oh well. At least this will be a start, and it will give me something to do on the 25 hour drive to Washington!

For now I'm going to continue to enjoy my SATC marathon and put off packing :)

e.e. cummings

I carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Deployment Survivor

I am about to become a Deployment survivor, which is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I feel proud that I showed all of those people who said I couldn't do it and that we wouldn't make it that I am strong and that I could do it. It hasn't been an easy year, thats for sure, but it has definitely been worth it. I feel as though B and I have connected on a different level, proving that you don't have to be around somebody all the time to feel close to them. I feel as close to him as ever and he's 6,000 miles away. Lately though, communication has been difficult. Their internet was shut off in their rooms since they are packing up and getting ready to come home, and he doesn't always have time to go to the MWR to use the computers. It can be frustrating but I just keep reminding myself that it will all be over soon. As a matter of fact, my DOM, which is a microsoft excel spreadsheet calculating the time they've been gone, says we're at 94% right now. I never thought I would see this day! I'm just so anxious to get out to Washington and get an apartment and get everything set up. I really hope I can find a job that allows me to have nights and weekends off, so I can enjoy as much time with B as possible!

3 a.m. still awake?

So it's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep so what do I do? Create a blog. It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile and I guess now is the perfect time! I think a little anxiety is the reason I can't sleep tonight. In less than 3 weeks I will be moving 1,700 miles away from everything I have ever known. I am extremely excited, but nervous at the same time. I feel like I have so much to do before I leave. And to top it all off, my sister is graduating from High School 2 days before we leave. To say my family is stressed out would be putting it mildly. In the end though, the reward will be so worth it. Travis and Brandan will finally be home with us for good!For now at least.. it is the Army after all. *sigh* For now, time to get some sleep because tomorrow will no doubt be a busy day!