The Perfect Day

Trey had an extra day off yesterday in honor of Veteran's Day. Have I mentioned I LOVE our 3-days??? I dooo! We did the old people's version of sleeping in. You know.. got up at the normal time because it's impossible to actually sleep in and lounged around for hours drinking coffee and bumming.

We finally got off of our rears around noon and headed out for OKC. Can I just say that I adore the fact that this city is an hour away from us! Unlike last time, I made sure to wear comfy shoes :)
We went straight to the Oklahoma City Memorial. I don't really know how to put into words how this place made me feel. It was very overwhelming. I don't remember much about this day (other than I was in Disney World at the time) so I learned a lot. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even know why the bombing took place or how McVeigh did it. I did take a few pictures outside, which I will post later, but they didn't allow cameras inside.
I was fighting back the tears from the moment it started. You walk out of that elevator and feel like you are there. There are pictures everywhere of what was going on that morning, I know what the weather was like and what the forecast was for the rest of the day, the background noises playing of what you may have heard as you walked into work that day... it put you right there at the scene. From there we walked through a few different exhibits into a room where we heard a recording of a meeting that was going on when the bomb went off. They had to record all these meetings and that tape was recovered. You hear them talking, hear the bomb go off, hear all the confusion and chaos that follows. It was awful. It broke my heart to think about what this city and everyone else who was affected went through... all because of two men. It made me think a lot about 9/11 and the Ft. Hood incident. It just pisses me off that people can be so selfish and careless. How can you NOT be concerned about taking even ONE person's life away from them... never mind hundreds or thousands. How does that NOT affect you? What is the difference between their hearts and minds and ours that doesn't give them that compassion?

From there we made the short drive to Bricktown, which I am in love with. We parked the car, walked around a bit, then stopped in this little bar (with all intentions of having 1 drink) called Tapwerks. It wasn't our fault that we stayed way longer than intended... over 100 beers on tap.. come on. AND they had sanitizer for the toilets!!! My kind of bar :) Our plan was to go to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar for dinner then head home. Imagine my surprise when hubs suggests we get a hotel room right in the heart of Bricktown so we could drink as much as we wanted have a little more fun without having to worry about driving home! Something I would normally think to do, of course. Him? Let's just say he's normally not the spontaneous one of the bunch. To that I smiled ear to ear and ordered another blueberry flavored wheat beer.

Toby Keith's place was pretty cool. I was floored because they offer active duty soldiers a free meal. A big, fat cheeseburger and fries which Trey was going to order anyways. I stayed true to form and got a little emotional over that. It's hard enough to even get a military discount anywhere... here he got a free meal! You can only get it once, but still...

So we had a great night - and it's only still Saturday :)
My Gamecocks are on.. sporting their camo. Highly unlikely we'll beat Florida, but you know I'm hopeful! For the first 3 minutes at least...

Thankful

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the veterans along with the today's soldiers that are fighting for our freedom. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel towards you all!

'Tis the time of the month

I have been soooo emotional today! I'm debating going to bed so nothing else makes me cry, but then I wouldn't be able to watch SYTYCD. So help me God, if there's any routines like last week's fear routine, I'm turning it off and crawling under the sheets!

example #1
I was trained on the phones today at the food bank. I loved doing that, but did hear one story that just broke my heart. I don't want to get into the full story, but it was a mother who was trying her best just to be the mom we all want and expect to be. While telling me her story I could hear her voice start to crack as she fought the tears, but she lost all control as the flood gates opened. It was all could do not to sit there and cry with her.

example #2
I called my mom afterwards wanting to talk about it, but she couldn't talk at the moment. That is all. I still didn't cry at that moment but was pathetically pretty dern close. *don't feel bad mum. you clearly did nothing to bring that on... i blame it on my insanity* But she did call back 5 minutes later so all was good until....

example #3
I got home and watched the coverage on the Ft. Hood memorial. OH.My.God. I don't remember the last time I cried so hard. Between the last roll call and hearing the silence after every other soldier's name was called, hearing Taps being played, and seeing the families barely able to walk through their grief as they said their goodbyes... i couldn't contain myself. I just pray and pray for them.. that they are comforted as much as possible.

There have been other little things, but I already can't remember what they are. I'm sure they were very silly reasons. Off to go enjoy one of those Betty Crocker Warm Delight things. The chocolate fudge cookie one. With Vanilla Ice Cream on top. Full fledged fatty girl version of everything. Mmmhmmmm... judge me. I don't care.

Update:
I also cried when I tried bring all 10000 bags of groceries in by myself and one of the bags split.. the jar of spaghetti sauce crashes below and all of a sudden there's broken glass everywhere (I totally just rapped that like P.Diddy) and sauce splattered all over me.
The End.

My first day

3 hours and 45 minutes just about did me in. I'm exhausted. My head is killing me. My feet and back hurt. And I was starving. But don't let all that bitchen fool you. I really enjoy it. Basically all I did today was learn things like what size families get how much food, what to put in certain bags, make sure you are giving the cart of food to the right person because that family of 1will sure enough will take a family of 5's cart if you let them (I made a 1 family women very happy today.. grrr). So yeah.. day number one I found out that people are extremely greedy and aren't always appreciative of what they get... even when they have nothing. They will seriously tell you that they don't like brown rice can they please have mac and cheese instead.. seriously?? I also learned that I better eat a good lunch before I go. Staring at food all day does a number on my appetite! Can't wait to see what Day 2 holds for me...

We had a pretty low key weekend. Friday night's dinner was Steak, potato casserole* and a salad. And possibly peach cobbler for dessert :) We watched a movie and for the life of me I can't remember now what it was called or even what it was about! It wasn't that bad either... that's pretty sad!
Saturday we got up early and went on a horrendously long, puke inducing delightful jog to work off all those calories from the night before. Went to a friends house early afternoon. Celebrated Jimmy's 1-year birthday. Wish I had some pictures.. he's the cutest thing ever... but I failed to bring my camera once again... and watched the Alabama football game. I was reminded once again of why I DO NOT start drinking at noon when I was asleep by 8:30. Nice.
Sunday involved a pointless trip to Wichita Falls where we got NOTHING accomplished.
Now it's back to the grind for Trey. It's his last week of real training for BOLC II. We don't have much - or any - contact with each other this week, but I'm thankful it's a short one. He has Friday off to celebrate Veteran's Day :) Yay for 3-days!!!

* Potato Caserole
1-2lb bag of hashbrowns
6oz sour cream
1 can of cream of celery soup (I think I'll try cream of chicken next time)
5oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (hell yes this wifey freshly grated that cheese!)
1/2 cup margarine, melted
Topping:
2 cups crushed ritz crackers
1/2 cup margarine, melted

combine all casserole ingrediants and spoon into lightly greased casserole dish.
combine cracker crumbs and melted margarine and sprinkle over the top
Bake at 350 till bubble, about 40 minutes

Tragic Day

My heart is broken over today's events at Ft. Hood. I am thinking constantly and praying about everyone there. How it must have felt to be on lock down. How families were/are grieving when they found out their loved one was one of the 12 dead or 31 injured. It literally makes my stomach turn to think about those soldiers who were either coming home from a deployment or getting ready to leave for one, but yet died at the hand of a fellow soldier. It's just about the most unnatural thing I can think of. These men have put their lives on the line in a foreign country, most more than once, and were breathing sighs of relief to be home and safe. It's just sickening. Being part of this community, I can say that being on post makes you feel safe. A lot of families chose to live on post, knowing that a possibility of a deployment will arise and being behind those gates surrounded by other soldiers and their families, just makes you feel much more secure. He took that away from us today.
I have to say that I'm glad he is alive. Everyone wants answers from him and I'm glad he's around to face the consequences of his horrible acts. I'm glad he wasn't able to take the cowardly way out.

200

This is my 200th post. Holla! Who'da thunk it?

That is all. Have a great day.

My favorite show

2 posts in one day ~ What? I wanted to save this special subject for it's own post. For my favorite show. You know... So You Think You Can Dance. Yes, friends, it's that time again. Let's discuss...

My favorite dance - by far - of the night was Kathryn and Legacy's contemporary dance.. one of my favorite styles. This one was about her conquering her fear (him portraying the fear). It reminded me a lot of Mia Michaels' dance from last year about addiction. Here's the link. It's worth your time, promise. *I still haven't figured out how to embed videos. It never works for me*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Hqa9YJAmQ

My 2nd favorite would have to be Karen and Kevin's hip hop routine. It was pretty sick if I do say so myself. They were even put on the hot tamale train for it.. wooot wooooooot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED88F7jD5gw

Molly and Nathan did a great job with the Bollywood.. that is quickly becoming a favorite also. I can't find a video for this one, so you are spared.
They are all so good this season, it's going to be heartbreaking to see a lot of them go. I was pretty pleased with the results last night though. If only the Phillies would hurry up and end baseball season, in their favor of course so we can get back to two shows a week... that would be lovely!

Right where I'm meant to be

My meeting this morning at the food bank could not have gone any better! I feel like after a month and 1/2 of being here that I finally found my purpose. I left there today with no doubt that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
I walk in and meet with the director and we immediately start talking about football when I tell her I'm from SC. They've always lived in OK but her and her son are big Gamecock and SEC fans in general. Hmm.. sign number 1.
She tells me that their biggest need for help right now is in the clerical area. Hello, I'm your girl. That's MY area. When she showed me all the paperwork, files that need to be kept up with, and data entry that needs to be done everyday - my heart started fluttering. Sign number 2. I am going to learn every bit of how everything works first though because I'm curious like that.. and that way I'll be able to jump in and help in other areas when needed.
This was a HUGE eye opener for me today. I thought they could only give away non-perishable items.. but they do the whole shabang. They feed, on average, 50 families a day and that only rises as the holidays get closer. They also will take furniture, clothing... anything. She doesn't want to turn anything down that people want to give because you just never know what someone might need. Some of their customers are sleeping on the floor every night.

My heart could just NOT be anymore content and full than it is right now. It's so sad to see the conditions some people are living in and I'm extremely thankful that I can make a difference in some of their lives. I think this opportunity is really going to make me see how much I have to be thankful for. We're all so quick to want more and more, but never really stopping to remember that we're lucky to even have the income to have a roof over our heads. I can't wait to start there... which is Monday by the way... I'm sure you'll here all about it!

On another note - I may try and do a 5K next month. One of the volunteers is heading it up I guess and told me briefly about it. I've been doing more running than usual, so I'm thinking about kicking up the training for it and giving it a shot... what do you runners think? A little over a month enough time to get ready?

On a serious note...

I've been doing a lot of soul searching since I've come out here. What else am I supposed to do with all this time?? We are lucky enough in our lives right now that I don't NEED to get a full time job while we're out here... great because there haven't been too many options open for me. I've been thoroughly enjoying my life as a housewife for the most part. I stay busy most of the time. I love for Trey to be able to come home to a clean house and dinner being cooked for him. I love that I can run all kinds of errands I need or he needs while he is away, so after spending a full week in the field he can come home and JUST BE. He doesn't have to worry about helping with the laundry or getting the bills paid. But there are times when I have NOTHING to do, and deep down I've known that I want/need to get out there and do something good for other people.

I've always had a huge spot in my heart for families that are less fortunate and can't afford to put a meal on the table every night and for the homeless. I know there are those out there that give people in that category a bad name, but not all the homeless are out there begging for money so they can buy alcohol or drugs. Not all of them got there because they did horrible things in life. You never know what hand someone has been dealt in life, and really, most of us are only one paycheck away from being out in the streets. Scary thought.
I've been looking around for different places where I could possibly volunteer for awhile now and yesterday I contacted the local food bank out here. The Executive Director got back in touch with me today and we are meeting tomorrow morning to see where I'd fit best. I'm really really excited about this. I've always known I wanted to be able do something like this and am very thankful that I have the time now. I'm just hoping it goes well and they'll have something for me to do... anything... wish me luck!

Weekend in Review

I hope everyone had a great weekend! That one seemed to go particularly fast for us, but what's new?

Friday night Trey got home a little later than usual, so dinner was just about done when he got home. I did forget to pick up our weekend stash of beer and wine (I know right... how could I?) so he went back out and picked some up for us before dinner - my hero in more ways than one.
I made Chile Rellenos Chicken and I L-O-V-E-D it. Again, I got this recipe from somewhere out here in blog land and can't remember where. I'm really gonna have to make note of who I'm stealing it from when I do that! At least that way I can give whoever it is proper credit
*side note - I'm hearing what I believe is the tornado siren outside right now. But the skies are a perfect blue. I've never heard one before so I'm not sure what it sounds like... but I have no idea what else that could possibly be. Ehh.. if this post stops mid sentence, please know I've lived a good life and have no regrets*
Anywho... here's the recipe:
Chiles Rellenos Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves(4-6 ounces each)
1 lime, cut in half crosswise
1 egg white
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup finely crushed nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips ( I have yet to find these, I just use regular plan tortilla chips, although you could use lime flavored ones as well)
1/2 can whole green chilies, drained and cut into strips
2 tablespoons shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 Teaspoon snipped fresh cilantro
Salsa (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place one chicken breast half in resealable plastic food storage bag; seal bag. Lightly flatten chicken to even thickness using flat side of a meat tenderizer. Repeat with remaining chicken breast. Discard plastic bag. Sometimes I skip this step completely and just use chicken tenders instead of breasts.
2. Juice lime halves into small bowl. Add egg white and garlic;whisk until frothy.
3. Place tortilla chips in another resealable plastic food storage bag and finely crush. Place crushed chips in a shallow dish. Dip chicken into egg mixture and then into chips, coating completely. Discard any remaining chips. Place chicken in a pan.
4. Bake 20-22 mins or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Arrange chile strips over chicken;sprinkle with cheese. Bake 2-3 mins or just until cheese melts. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with salsa, if desired.

After enjoying that deliciousness, we watched Slumdog Millionaire for the first time! We were a little late with that one, I know, but it was a great movie!

Saturday morning we got up early and went to Atlanta Bread Company for breakfast. Thank God there's one of those right down the street. Nothing beats a 1/2 of chicken pesto panini sandwich and a hot bowl of potato soup. Not for breakfast of course. I had the cinnamon crisp bagel (to die for) for breakfast and a hot cup of coffee of course. After that we set out for OKC. Went to the Capitol Building first. It was interesting and I'm glad we went to see it, but we didn't stay long. I was surprised that NO ONE was there. In Columbia there are always people there, walking around, taking pictures, etc all the time. It was at this point when I realized I had made the awful mistake of wearing a new pair of shoes for the first time on a day that was supposed to be full of walking around. WHEN WILL I EVER LEARN??? We headed straight to Walmart for some hopeful relief. 6 blister bandaids later and we were still no good.
We did make it to lunch and met the Perpetual Newlyweds. Can't say enough about them... we had a great time chatting it up for a couple of hours... even if they aren't SEC fans.. no one's perfect right?? ;) Mr. Newlywed is leaving tonight for Basic, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers! Sadly, we made the trip back home after that. I just was not being a trooper with my feet all blistered up. Fortunately, Trey has a 3-day coming up so we're planning on spending a couple of nights there to get in everything we want to see.
We got home in just enough time to see Carolina get their asses handed to them by Tennessee. Lots of bad words were said during that mess of a game. My FIL was quite happy with that game... grrrrr! And we had NO trick-or-treaters!! Good, because I didn't buy candy anyway. I am not the grinch who stole Halloween, I just didn't expect to be home.

Sunday was a lazy, and pretty boring day to be honest! The only thing worth mentioning is that we went to see Law Abiding Citizen ~ LOVED IT. Run, don't' walk, to your closest movie theater and see this one. My heart was pounding almost the entire time.

The weather is beautiful here today (I think I'm in the clear with the tornado... the "siren" stopped a few minutes ago), so I think I'll get out there and enjoy it before the cold stuff gets here and stays here!

Happy Halloween!

I won't be around *in blogging world* tomorrow, so I figured I'd throw that out there! I hope everyone has a great time no matter what you're doing. We'll be out of town, more on that below, and I will say that I'm going to miss seeing all the little kids dressed up. Last year we stayed home watching scary movies and enjoying all of our 3 trick-or-treaters (that was such a friggen let down). But hopefully we'll see some out and about in OKC.

I'm SOOO excited to get there. Why so excited you ask? I'm going to meet a blogging buddy!! Our husbands are coming along for the meet. They are actually a big reason we're meeting this weekend. Her husband has courageously signed up for the Army and is leaving for Basic this Monday. He's taking the OCS route as well, so it'll be nice for them to talk about it since Trey went through it all recently. We've been emailing all week, making arrangements to get together. I have to laugh at ourselves because it totally feels like you're setting up a blind date. "Let's meet here at this time... I'll be the girl wearing the cute and sassy sweater dress get up... here's my cell in case anything changes". I'm sure we'll have a great time - I'll let you know next week :)



It hit me yesterday that I've been a little selfish on my blog posts. Talking all about me and not so much about Trey. A few people in his family read this I think (ahem.. I hope) if they haven't gotten tired of just hearing about me all the time ;) and my mum is still a loyal reader and I'm sure she'd like to hear a bit about her son-in-law too... I never update anyone on how HE'S doing. Me me me!

Well, if I had gotten to this yesterday, I would have told you he's doing marvelous. He's thoroughly enjoying his life right now. Come on.. you all know he played Army every day of his childhood... now he's getting paid to do the same. *please forgive me lack of knowledge when it comes to the technical terms of anything... you'll have to live with my girly version* Earlier in the week he was all amped up. They spent the first part basically living a video game. They were pretending they were in tanks overseas, but the game made them feel like they were really there. The first day he "killed a bad guy". The second day he died. He was blown up by an IED. It's the 2nd time he's died in two weeks. I don't remember how he died last week. I talk light-heartedly about this, but you know me.... it's got my mind going in overdrive. All I can say is that I'm glad it's not for real and I hope they are learning lessons.

He got home last night and was still feeling pretty damn Hooah. They are doing combatitives yesterday and today. That means they are spending two days doing nothing but fighting each other. Not my idea of a good time, but soldiers will be soldiers. He came home feeling pretty BA. Thennn.... he woke up this morning. To say he is a little sore is a bit of an understatement. I think he realized he is not 22 anymore... and his punching bag partner is. I have a feeling I'll be doing a little pampering tonight (get your minds out of the gutter).

That's about it for him. I'll be sure to do that more often. I know anyone that is interested could just call him, but lets face it, it's much more interesting from my point of view.



I have a busy day ahead of me! Have an appointment to take care of these monstrous eyebrows. Going to payless to take advantage of a special code I have to get 1/2 off on a pair of boots. Oh you want half off too?? Text "oprahshow" to 242424 and you can get it as well. Just for today so hurry. Your welcome. Need to pick up a bottle of wine. I read in a magazine this week that 1 or 2 glasses of red wine a day will help you fend off any colds coming your way. Need to protect my health! Then it's back home to do my wifely duties. Got laundry to do. Gotta clean the bathroom, straighten up in general, vacuum, sweep, mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, and make some dinner. I know, I know ~ I'm pretty awesome.



Have a great weekend!

Bandwagon

Yup... I jumped on it.

After tons of searching to find JUST what I was looking for, I finally found it today at JC Penney. For sale... 1/2 off.

Ta-da!! The sweater dress. With leggings. Uh huh... so not anything I would normally wear (God forbid I break out of my daily wear of jeans, sweater, and Sperry's). But I've been eyeing these on other people for months and have been loving it. The one I got is cream colored, but I couldn't find that one online.

Think I'll be donning this get-up for our day trip to OKC this weekend... perfect for the nice fallish day we're supposed to have.

Blah...

I'm not feeling so hot today. I got the flu vaccine shot up my nose yesterday.. and lo and behold... what do I feel like I have today? It's not horrible. My body's a tad achey and I feel flat out lethargic. Trey told me a couple times this would probably happen so it's possible that this is all in my head... or maybe he was just right for once ;)

So anyway - I'm going to try my best to be a lazy bum today and get some rest. I always feel way too guilty to allow myself to do that, but I'm under strict orders.

I was at the hospital twice yesterday. First outing was for my eye appointment and it's a good thing I thoroughly enjoy laughing at myself. I may or may not have asked more than one person where the "Optomology" department was and finally got an answer after the 2nd person finally told me she wasn't sure, but am I sure I wasn't looking for the Optometry dept? Umm yes thanks. Is Optomology even a word?
Appointment goes great. I take the elevator down to the first floor, go out the rotating door, and can't find my car ANYWHERE. After walking around the parking lot for a solid 5 minutes, I realize I must not have come out the same place I came in. Go back in the hospital and even though I was on the right floor, I couldn't find the right exit anywhere... swear it disappeared Harry Potter style. So I walked around like a straight up loon for another good 10 minutes before I finally found my parking lot. 10,000 parking lots... who knew!

Dear Santa, please bring me keyless entry for my car this year so I can always find it in the crazy parking lots. They Hundai likes to play hide-and-go seek.

P.S.
After using spell check, I'm pretty positive that Optomology does NOT exist... in case you were wondering :)

Happiest Place on Earth?

Nope... not Disney World. That would be Copenhagen, Denmark according to the Oprah show last week. After watching it today, I have to say that I may agree! *I'm sure there will be lots of differing opinions on this and I look forward to hearing them* :) Did anyone see this episode??

If I move there I may have a little bit of an inferiority complex. Next to all those leggy, blond hair, thin women - my 5'2" brunette self would stand out like a sore thumb! But to enjoy this lifestyle, I think I could hang!

• Cobblestone streets - Charming canals
• They think it's crazy that American people focus so much on getting married and that it's shameful that young girls grow up fantasizing about it. They put more stress on the actual marriage, not getting married. As it should be, they value relationships, not where you are in that relationship.
• 1/3 of the population ride bikes everywhere... even to the grocery store. Exercise? Fresh air? Wind blowing in my face? Yes please!
• If you lose your job, the government helps you find a new one and pays up to 90% of your salary for 4 years. Therefore there is no homelessness, no poverty, women are much more self-sufficient. They don't need a man to take care of them. (so you're with him because you're happy, not because they feel stuck, which we see happen a lot here)
• No fears... no fear of being homeless, no fear of losing your job and therefore losing your house.
  Everyone makes just about the same amount of money... no middle class. Everyone taxed the same. People choose careers based on what they want to do, not how much money they'll make
• Free education from preschool and up. You actually get paid to go to a university. They call it education support.
• 1 year paid maternity leave.
• Free health care... They like their people to be healthy and well educated!
• They do pay the highest income tax in the world.. but they are okay with that. They clearly get a lot out of it.
• They live with only the bare necessities. Small, cozy homes. Very clean because they don't have a lot. One quote I loved hearing from a husband and wife on the show was: "less space, less things, more life" I love that! Makes you think about what's really important... spending time with the people you love and less time thinking about what you don't have.
• They spend a lot of time with their families. It's just about mandatory for everyone to leave their jobs between 4 and 5 - on their bikes mind you and always stop by the market on the way home for fresh bread and produce.
• It's the norm to leave your children unattended. One couple had their 1 month old twins sleeping outside in the yard unwatched. Want to enjoy a nice lunch with your husband with no screaming, whiny kids at a nice cafe? Ehh.. just leave them outside. "No one wants to steal your babies", they say. They don't even think of child molesters.

I know, I know... sounds a lot like socialism? But man, they made it sound like Utopia. One lady said they don't think of it as Socialism, they think of it as humanity. It really got me thinking about this huge health care debate that we have going on now. Why are we making such a big fuss about this? Why would it be such a horrible thing? *these aren't rhetorical questions, I'm really trying to sort it all out in my head. So please... leave your thoughts* In the meantime - I'm fantasizing about packing up NONE OF MY STUFF and moving to Copenhagen.

One more interesting tidbit that got me thinking: They are known as the happiest people on earth, but also the least religious! That I have no answers for.

Toot Toot!!

TGIF!!

It's funny - I'm not working and still look forward to Friday all week. Why you ask? Why wish my weeks away still? I get to spend a couple days with the hubster after not seeing him all week! I have to say... keeps the marriage exciting!

I have to take a quick minuto to toot this little horn of mine. Tonight when Trey does get home, he'll be sitting down to a nice plate of spaghetti - with sauce made FROM SCRATCH. This is a big big accomplishment for me. It's been festering in the crock pot since 11 and my house smells heavenly. Not only that, but he'll have some fresh french bread. And on the side some of that oil-spice-dipping stuff that I made as well. And you know... salad from the bag :) I'm hollarin' for myself in true Mary Murphy style and put myself on the Hot Tamale Train.. hoot hooooot!

Also, I started a new book tonight that my little Librarian friend suggested to me (I got a library card from the library seconds away from my pad. It's smaller than said pad. It's like a little miniature house... so cute) Anyways... the book... It's called The Gift by Richard Paul Evans and it is nothing short of incredible. I started it last night in bed and couldn't put it down. I'm 1/2 way through. Strongly suggest it to any of y'all out there!

Enjoy your weekend ~ and ROLL TIDE!!

Mountain Men

Saturday morning, hubs and I ventured out to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. It's only about 10 minutes (if that) away from us with tons of trails to hike. I LOVE hiking so I've been looking forward to going there since before I even moved out here. It did not disappoint. It was hard to chose a trail but we ended up doing the Elk Trail (and saw no elk) because that took us up to the top of one of the mountains. We had a great time, I got sunburnt, Trey made endless fun of me because I wore so many layers and had to take all of them off - except for the bottom layer of course...Here are a few pics. I posted a ton on facebook, but I'll try to simmer it down a bit here:

Oh hello! You see the way this thing is looking at me out of that eye??

I believe we're going back this Saturday as long as we make it home by 3ish for the Bama game!

Feelin the Love!

I'm so so late in posting this, but I've gotten another award - you girls are too much! LAUREN (now that we know her real name) @ Dreams take flight passed this on to me last week... thanks bud!

The rules for this one are simple; just share five things you are obsessed with, and then pass the award on to five of the most fabulous blogs you read!

Here are my latest obsessions:

1. Starbucks - I've always had a little soft spot for this place, but since I've moved to Lawton it's been my saving grace. An expensive obsession? Maybe, but I love going there to meet up with a friend, hang out with hubs (yes, I was blessed with a husband who likes coffee and coffee shops even more so than I), or just to go by myself to get out of the house with a book.

2. Lists - I've turned into a compulsive list maker over the past two weeks. I get so much more done and get it done one thing at a time when I have my lists. I think it's curing my little case of ADD actually. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing stuff during my days and the feeling I get when I cross stuff off the list - Priceless!

3. My camera - it's nothing too fancy, and I am by no means a pro (or anywhere near it), but I've been taking pictures of everything out here. I love showing people back home what I'm doing out here. Which reminds me - I have a post to do about the hiking we did over the weekend. Pics to come tomorrow hopefully.

4. My laptop - I'm stretching to find 5 things I'm obsessive with but this is always one of them. More specifically the internet I guess. Allows me to keep in touch with so many people that I normally wouldn't just by phone. Between facebook, blogging, and plain ol' email - I think we're all set!

5. The Gym - I live for my gym time in the mornings now. I didn't go but once last week and I'm pretty sure that's what caused the slight funk I was in (of which I don't think I blogged about). I'm back to it this week and feel great! It's the one thing I know I'll be able to do every day for myself.

Passing this one on to:

Jessica at The Dent's Deal. Another one of my IRL friends that just started up a blog. She's only done one post, but I know it'll be just as fabulous as she is :)

Beth at Just Ask Beth, High Heels and Combat Boots (did you go private? I can't get on your blog all of a sudden), Jennifer at Crazy Shananigens, and Steph at Watching Airplanes

Good Eats

I'm happy to report that this weekend went much better in the cooking department! And I'm sure Trey is very thankful as well.

Friday night I made homemade sloppy joes and used ground turkey burger instead of ground beef. They were delish!! I'm like 99% sure I got this recipe from Charlotte's blog, but I can't for the life of me find where she posted it up so I'm not completely sure. At any rate... here it is.. It made enough for us to have leftovers all weekend!

SLOPPY JOES
Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
12 parker house rolls
Directions:
Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add ground turkey, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar and season it once more before serving on parker rolls (or any large whole wheat buns).

I'm pretty positive that I'll never use regular ol' sloppy joe mix out of the can ever again!

Saturday night we had a couple friends over for the Bama/Carolina game (of which I had lots of mixed feelings over and can't say that I'm terribly disappointed that Carolina lost. Please no hate mail) so I just made some munchies. A dip made with ground sausage, package of cream cheese, and rotel and then a buffalo chicken pizza.

Sunday night I made Shepperd's Pie. My grandmother used to make this when her and my grandfather visited and I loved it! This one was made a little differently... let's just say I'm a little overly excited to have it for leftovers tonight. Here's the recipe for this one:
Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1lb lean ground beef
1 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used two)
1 cup of corn
1 cup of tomatoes, diced
2 potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 2-qt casserole dish with cooking spray
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil for 5 min, stirring frequently. Stir in the ground beef and basil, and cook and stir for 5 more minutes. Mix in the garlic, corn, and tomatoes, and simmer for 5 min. Transfer beef mixture to prepared dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, and water. Spread evenly over meat mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated over for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown on top (I had to do much longer for some reason) Sprinkle with cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Although it wasn't even close to being cold here, that was a great meal to eat after watching the Pats play a full football game and kicking some serious ass... in the SNOW!!!! Snow.. in October... I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter for some of us!

Brand New Baby!

My BFF, Julianne, had her baby last night!

Mason Lee was born at 8:22 and was 7lbs 1oz and my heart cannot be smiling any brighter on the inside. I can't even imagine out mommy and daddy feel!

She was due on the 14th, but little Mason was pretty dern comfortable right where he was so he wasn't going anywhere. She was scheduled to be induced on Monday, but I guess he decided he was ready Saturday morning. I haven't talked to her yet, but from what I've heard, it seems like everything went really well. I am so proud of her! Best part - it's Daddy's birthday today so he got the perfect little birthday present! Here are a few pics from camera phones (you have noooo idea how much it's killing me to not be there and have to settle for camera pics!!!)

I CANNOT WAIT to meet this little guy in December!!

Just a Dream

Every month - when it's that time of month (why can't we all just say that? I was on my period dammit! There... doesn't that feel good?) my dreams are beyond vivid. Ask me any other time of the month and I'll swear to you that I don't even dream. But that week... insanely vivid dreams. Take last week for instance...
Dream #1 *and the worst of them all*
I dreamed I joined the Army and was in Basic Training!!! I was hanging upside down on some ropes course and was supposed to be able to climb up to the top.. while hanging by my feet. I was doing the ugly snotty cry crying for my husband to come help me and magically he appeared. I told him through my snot and tears that I made a huge mistake and please please please ask if I can be let out of Basic. I woke up before I ever got my answer, but man... I was uptight all day after that one. Pheewww... thank God that was just a dream. Not everyone can be super hooah and lets just say hubs is a much much much better fit than I!
Dream #2
The next night I dreamt I was back working at Midland Mortgage and there was a huge (I'm talking like bigger than my kitchen table) python roaming around. Everyone was running everywhere trying to get away from it, but not leaving the building for some reason. The monster caught up to me and bit me on my back. But for being such a big thing, the bite was tiny. It felt so real that I thought it was still hurting when I woke up. I felt like my tshirt was stuck to my back in the spot where I was bit. Vivid AND strange...
Dream #3
I also dreamt about my grandmother for the first time since she passed away. I was sitting next to her inside of a church. I don't think it was during a sermon or anything... I think it was just the two of us sitting there. I knew she was getting ready to die, but she didn't. I kept trying to say my "goodbyes" but couldn't get anything out. I was trying to tell her why she meant so much to me and how much I was going to miss her. I would open my mouth and try really hard to say whatever it is that I wanted to say, but nothing would come out at all.

This seems to happen every month during THAT week. After three dreams like that in a row, I was exhausted! Does this happen to anyone else?

~Happy Humpday~ and a little extra

I almost didn't make it, but I have 2 hours left so I'm safe! The biggest thing I'm happy about this week is that I got my Old Navy bag back today ~ long story but I'll try to make it brief. Me and my Lawton BFF - A - thought we'd take a trip to Wichita Falls today for some shopping (much more options around there, plus who doesn't like a day trip??) None of my winter clothes from last year fit me anymore - why you ask? They're wayyyy too big. Holla! - so I needed to restock my closet. I hit the jackpot in Old Navy. Filled up the bag to the brim with sweaters, long sleeved T's, and scarves galore. Leave there a happy camper bc just about everything was on sale and head to American Eagle to check on the jean sale. Helpful worker guy insists on taking my bag and keeping it behind the counter so I can shop with free hands. Lovely! He's so nice and helpful right? After coming to the horrid realization that I am too old for the level of low rise their jeans provide, I tell helpful worker guy I'm ready to go and just need my bag. Oh, well that's impossible, because he gave my bag away! Uh huh.. gave it to the lady he was holding two old navy bags for. I keep my calm for the time being while some other worker chicks scours the mall in search of my new wardrobe. After about 5 minutes of praying she peeps around the corner with bag in tow, I go in and talk with the manager. She says bag lady payed with a credit card and she's going to try to get in touch with her. Has me write down my name and number and if I had any other shopping to do, would I please go and do that and she'll call me.
I'm panicking, but A tried to comfort me with other sales around the mall and it worked for a while. Head back after a 1/2 hour and no progress had been made. Said the credit card company tried calling bag lady, but number was busy. I only lost my cool for about one minute when she suggests that I head back to Lawton and she'll find a way to get my bag to me. Uuummmmm think again! I'm not leaving that mall until I have my clothes in hand. So after what seemed like forever she got in touch with someone at corporate and got the permission to give me the amount of money I spend at Old Navy (I luckily had my receipt in my wallet, not in said bag). The gods were with me... we get to Old Navy and they had one more of everything I bought 2 hours earlier. Head up to the counter, tell checkout boy he will never believe the day I've had, proceed to tell him the whole story very animatedly (if that's even a word). He doesn't even blink and says... "oh you mean this bag? some lady dropped it off saying she had no clue how she got it". REallly??? I assumed when AE girl was scouring the mall, that would have been the first place she checked. We have a good chuckle over this bc I'm amused at this point. As we're leaving the mall, I realize that I have a big chunk of extra money in my wallet from AE.
What to do, what to do.... after about a full minute of deliberation, (does God want me to prove to him that I'll do the right thing? Or maybe he's saying, "Jess, you've had a bad day.. here's an extra chunk of money" ) and a phone call home, I gave the money back. Yes, it was painful. Very painful. But I would have felt horrible spending every single dollar there. Grrrrrrrr.... it's hard being a good person sometimes ;) I then take the time to warn A that adventures out with me are never uneventful. She's now fully warned! Sorry... I promised a quick story but that was impossible.
I'm tired. Can I skip the happy list this week? That would make me pretty happy in itself. Thanks :)

Weedkend Recap

Technically, we're still on our weekend (Thank You Mr. Columbus), but since Trey is very very occupied with the PlayStation 3 (war games too... you'd think he got enough of that during the week) I figured I'd come on here and rehash the weekend. It went by too fast per usual!

Friday

Trey got home later then he expected so we didn't do much. Hung around the house and scoffed at enjoyed my screw up of a dinner. Lesson learned: fresh basil measurements and basil from the jar measurements are not equal! The little Italian dish I tried out was a big fat FAIL. So we had plain ol' psghetti instead. For the second time this week. I haven't cooked in 8 months (unless you count easy mac). It's NOT like riding a bike. After that we watched a movie - Insomnia - and fell asleep. Pretty exciting night, no?

Saturday

Got up and made breakfast. Another FAIL. Long story but with the help of my mother yesterday, I realized I had the toaster on bake, not toast. That's why the english muffins were not browning and after 10-15 minutes of trying to brown them, they were hard as a rock. Literally. They were baking at 375 degrees the entire time. Poor hubs ate them anyways. At least the eggs, turkey bacon, and coffee were all a success. Grrrr
After that we met a few other couples for Oktoberfest, which I had long been awaiting with baited breath for 2 weeks. Had a good time - of course - but it was NOTHING like I expected. It was empty! Very much geared towards the chilren. Here's a few pics: *Or not? Blogger didn't like my Oktoberfest pics I guess!*


I missed out on the Carolina game, but thankfully had a friend texting me score updates. We won, but I hear it wasn't too pretty. We did get to watch the FL/LSU game that night.. I was hoping for a big fat Florida loss... only bc that would have put us at #1 in the SEC East. Can't get everything we want I guess!

Sunday

Went to Oklahoma City for the day with another couple. This was more of a boys trip... the main goal was to go to a shooting range... but I WAS curious. I went in there thinking I was pretty bad ass, but I have to admit, I immediately cowered in a chair and jumped out of my skin every time a gun went off. I was terrified! I did shoot off my 9 milli, but it was not so much fun for me. My palms were pouring sweat. I don't know if I'll be making any more trips to the range! We had dinner in front of the Patriots game per my demands requests... that was a mistake. Lost in overtime. But the day did end in a huge success with a trip to Target. Ahhh Target, how I missed you!!

That's about it. Having a pretty lazy day today, but I'm being dragged out in the torrential winds in just a few minutes to make the almost daily trip to Walmart. Hubs goes back to the barracks tonight until Friday and I actually have a pretty busy week ahead of me!

And the award goes to...

Kate over at Sometimes Life is Messy tagged me with the Kreativ Blogger award last week :) Kate's such an amazing person and I've LOVED getting to know her! If you haven't already, go on over and check out her blog. (along with the other amazing people I tag at the end)

Here are the rules:

1.You Can Only Use One Word.
2. Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers

I'll try my best to use only one!!

1. Where is your cell phone? close
2. Your hair? shorter
3. Your mother? thoughtful

4. Your father? hysterical

5. Your favorite food? junk

6. Your dream last night? better
7. Your favorite drink? choc milk

8. Your dream/goal? mother
9. What room are you in? Living

10. Your hobby? blogging/pictures/reading

11. Your fear? alone
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren't? normal ;)
15. Muffins? yes
16. Wish list item? coffee maker

17. Where did you grow up? Mass./SC

18. Last thing you did? clean

19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your TV? on

21. Your pets? none

22. Friends? thankful

23. Your life? unpredictable
24. Your mood? calm
25. Missing someone? everyday
26. Vehicle? dirty

27. Something you're not wearing? jacket
28. Your favorite store? hobbylobby (like how I made that into one word?)
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When was the last time you laughed? seconds

31. Last time you cried? last friday
32. Your best friend? trey

33. One place that I go to over and over? walmart
34. One person who emails me regularly? dad
35. Favorite place to eat? lots

Now I get to pass the on... lucky girls!

Ashleigh at The Storey Family: Please go check her blog out.. one of my IRL good good friends. She's honest. Writes about the bad along with the good. Which I love. Our lives aren't always rainbows and butterflies and I love that she puts her heart into it all.

Kim at A Life Less Ordinary: My cousin! Semi-new to the blogging world. She has a way of writing about day to day everythings and making it VERY entertaining!

L at Dreams Take Flight: I'm a new reader of hers. I LOVE her blog! I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her and reading about her weekend visits with her boyfriend.. they are so cute and always seem to have a great time together.

Katie at Loves of Life: I love her outlook on everything. Very uplifting and has a positive way of looking at everything ~ and taught me how to wear a scarf :) She's going through such an exciting time in her life right now!

SCH at Uncommon Life, Uncommon Joy: I'm a somewhat new reader of hers and have been loving every minute. She's such a sweet girl and has a great outlook on life.

JG at Perpetual Newlyweds: She's been great with giving me little tips in settling in in Oklahoma. Her and her husband are BRAND NEW into the military life ~ I'm sure she'll have lots of adventures to write about. Hopefully I'll be meeting her IRL soon!

Off to Oklahoma City for the day :)

decisions, decisions...

I've been in my new little town for almost 2 weeks now. Something I've been struggling with since I came out here was the whole work situation. I've been thinking and thinking, looking, talking about it with Trey.. so it's only natural that I blab about it here now too.

To work or not to work.. here's my dilemma.

I've been looking for jobs and really... there's not much going on. I'm partly to blame for that though. I have too many conditions and they may be a tad unrealistic. I looked on the NAF website (helps spouses find jobs on post) but you have to be stationed here for at least 12 months. We'll only be here for 1/2 that time. I look in classifieds but see things like, "looking for an exciting new career path? Applebees carside to go is the next step for you". I'm in no means above any job, but here lies my problem(s).

A) I only want to work part-time. For right now at least.
B) I want very specific hours and it's very very selfish. I want to be able to fit going to the gym, running errands, and still being able to make dinner in my day. I want to have weekends off to spend with Trey.
C) I REALLY want to figure out what it is that I want to do with my life. I feel like I'm just passing through not really knowing what direction I'm going in. Even if we were stationed here for a couple of years and I was looking for a full time job, I wouldn't know what I wanted to do. I'm thinking about going back to school, but have no clue what for. Basically, think I've got some good ol' soul searching to do!

I know what I listed above is not real life. I'm going to have to get over that. But part of me just wants to enjoy that for a little while. I keep the house clean, do the laundry, and run the errands during the week when he's training.. which all used to take up our weekend. Now we'll be able to actually enjoy that time and cross off things on our list to do while we're out here. But the other half of me is having a hard time letting myself enjoy that. Don't get me wrong, I keep myself busy during the day for the most part. I'm hardly ever sitting around doing nothing. But I've been working nonstop since I was old enough to work. The fact that I'm making no money right now is causing so much guilt inside myself. The rare times that I am just sitting around never last long because I feel like I always have to go go go!

I think I've come up with my own solution, which may be to find a place or two where I can volunteer a couple of hours a week. That way I'm doing something productive that I can feel good about and could set my own schedule. We'll see though. I'm sure I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I will try my best to enjoy long morning workouts, occasional coffee dates, and spoiling hubs. I know - tough life right? But trust me, I'm my own worst enemy... enjoying this is harder than it may seem!

~Happy Humpday~

Time to put my happy pants on again...

1. trying a new kind of wine - picking it out solely because I think the bottle it cute (it had polka dots.. come on.. ) and it ending up being delish.
2. having date night last Friday and a Mexican restaurant, then coming home and doing nothing but jamming out to some fly tunes and drinking said bottle of wine.
3. The movers bringing our stuff over the weekend and having the majority of it unpacked by Monday... feels much more like home around here.
4. The feel of the brand new carpet beneath my bare feet.
5. The fact that I'm actually starting to love going to the gym makes me happy.
6. finding out Trey can come home for a couple hours a night.
7. Dinner/Starbucks dates with my one and only friend here and laughing almost non stop when we're together.
8. Loving my new haircut and thanking God my eyebrows are cleaned up!
9. Hearing from friends and family back home on a daily basis makes my day more than they know.
10. The one piece of dark chocolate I have a day.

These Boots Were Made for Walking

Need some fashion help over here!

I wouldn't say that I'm completely clueless when it comes to the fashion department, but really I keep things very simple. My daily winter wardrobe will always include jeans and a sweater. The fanciest I get is adding some layers in. I love the whole sweater dress paired with boots look, but it's so not me. So I'm having a hard time picking anything out. I realized I wasn't the only one having this problem when I read my cousin Kim's post yesterday.

I know I like these boots from Target. But that's all I got. I have no clue what I'd match them up with. Sounds like an easy enough task, but I swear when I start looking, my new found ADD starts acting up. I start looking at a million different things, get way too sidetracked, start worrying about whether I need the brown, light brown, black or grey boots... blah blah blah and then I give up.

So where do I go to easily find cute fallish dresses to wear with these boots I don't yet have??

If You Can't Beat Them...

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend :)

Trey found out Friday afternoon that BOLC II would not be starting Nov. 1st, it will be starting Monday. Yup. This Monday. He had to report at 10:30 this morning. So here starts 7 more weeks of training. He can come home on Fridays at whoknowswhat time and has to be back Sunday mornings (I believe.. I'm hoping for afternoons though). I'm giving myself today to sit around and be a lazy, sad bum but that's all! I really am actually glad he's starting early. He'll be done that much sooner (is that a word?), we may get to go home earlier for Christmas, and it's giving me the opportunity to get out there on my own and figure things out. When that turned into a positive thing for me? I'm not sure...

The only thing I accomplished today was getting my kitchen in order. I did the best I could. Really. It's very small. I didn't realize how small it was until I tried to put all my stuff in it. The movers came at 7:30 Saturday morning. I was pretty sure my neighbors were going to murder us. Good news - NOTHING was messed up. So far. I still have one room to unpack. More good news - my vodka DID in fact make it to me!! Man I was pretty sure mover man #2 drank it before he left my driveway in Columbia. Trey and I were both surprised when I opened the box and saw it staring up at me. Bad news - Mover Man #1 blew up my bathroom AGAIN. Can you believe that? I mean if you gotta go, you gotta go, but really??? This man is pretty regular! At least there were no tools necessary after he left this time!

So where was I.. if you can't beat them, join em right? Ehhh.. I broke down and finally signed up for Twitter. I've been fighting it for so long. Another website to be addicted to is the LAST thing I need. But seriously? A website fully dedicated to Facebook like status updates.. I couldn't resist one minute longer. I have no friends though! I'm not sure how to find them either. So come over and follow me ~ janorton07

I Forgot My Anniversary!!

Thanks for all of your input on that email I received the other day! I've decided not to go with it. I'm not totally convinced it's a scam (I took Becca's advice and googled the email address - nothing negative came up, in fact a lot of other bloggers have heard from her and have taken her up on her offer - who's to say nothing happened with them though), but basically it comes down to me not wanting to take the risk. Not worth it. I didn't make this blog in order to make any money off it... not that I'd complain if I did.. but it's not my goal. Problem solved ~ moving on ~

I realized - almost a month too late - that I've been blogging for a year now! I really can't believe that. When I started this, I never knew it would become this much a part of my life. I've said this before, but I am extremely thankful for the friends I've met over this. Y'all got me through one of the toughest parts of my life that I've had to experience so far. This kept me sane and all of you kept me happy, grounded, and in the know when it comes to everything Army. It thrills me to think about where we'll get stationed next.. chances are it could very well be near any of you! I'm keeping my fingers crossed at least. We'll be moving again before you know it!

Major success story of the week:
Hubs and I were at Starbucks last night (for the my 3rd time this week..) when I spotted her. The one girl I've been looking for since I got here. You know... the one with the fabulous haircut. I walk up to her immediately and beg kindly ask where she gets her hair done. "Oh", she says, "I work at so and so. Right down the street". She's a hairdresser!! She gave me her card with a promise of $5 off on it. I know a good cut when I see one!! I'll be making my appointment shortly. I pray they wax eyebrows as well bc these monsters ARE NOT looking so hot!

Flattered or Weary??

I got an email yesterday and I don't quite know how to feel about it. Here's where you girls come in - Help!

It's the second time I've gotten an email like this.. the first one I didn't pay any attention to. Now I want to make sure I'm not missing out on anything. The email popped up in my junk mail from Sarah. I usually go ahead and delete these immediately, but the subject of this one said something about reading my blog. I maybe still shouldn't have opened it (I'm more than a little worried about catching viruses... I'd die without this laptop of mine), but I did and it said something about her wanting me to post about the boots her company sells. Something about me posting a link for them and if it gets so many clicks, she'll give me a certain amount of money. The company is in the UK. Sounds easy right? I can't help but be extremely weary.

So tell me ~ is this a normal thing that happens to y'all or simply too good to be true??

~Happy Humpday~

With my recent, brief bout of self-diagnosed depression, and my finding that I had nothing to worry about in the first place, I've decided to put more focus on the positive aspects on my life. I have to give credit to Kate for this idea. I was reading her blog yesterday where she listed 10 items that made her happy, when I thought to myself that I should dedicate one post a week to the things that have put a smile on my face or I am thankful for during the previous week. Wednesday seems to be the day because it was the only clever Title I could come up with...
1. a week ago today was my 2nd last day at work. The 4 layer Godiva chocolate cake sho did make me smile. And I was definitely thankful for all my co-workers who sat around joking and chatting it up while we ate that small piece of heaven.
2. My family. Spending the last two nights I had in town with them was great. Especially Friday night when we went to San Jose for dinner and sat outside in the perfect weather enjoying the food and drinks. Then having a glass or two of wine with my mom on the deck when we got back home.
3. Verrryyyy thankful for a uneventful trip out here to Oklahoma. I feel like it could have gone a lot worse.
4. The 2nd morning of my trip when I looked around me in somewhere, Arkansas and felt that pride of knowing I had made it all by myself. This is a huge accomplishment for me!
5. Walking in to our apartment for the first time and seeing not only my husband, but the flowers and card he had for me as well.
6. Rediscovering each other has definitely made me happy. I'm loving all the time we're spending together right now :)
7. Driving around this new town by myself and checking things out. I love driving down the road, looking over to the left and seeing little mountains. Huge change of scenery for me and I love it.
8. Our new kitchen table, chairs, and couch being delivered yesterday.
9. Realizing that delivery boys are from SC and chatting them up about that!
10. Having one girlfriend in town already. Not someone I met brand new, but a couple that I met while Trey was in OCS.
11. DVR
12. Went to dinner Monday night at Chili's and felt good knowing that 100% of their proceeds went to St. Judes Children's Hospital.
13. Speaking of food... trying out restaurants that are new to me excites me greatly. I can't wait to try every.single.one.of.them. (good thing I've been spending lots of time in the gym)

That's it for this week!

Home Sweet Home?

I MADE IT!! Safe and sound and in one piece.
It's really not as bad as everyone made it out to be... i don't think.. yet. Yes, it's a very small town. But really... everything I need is here (on one of the 2 main roads). Except Target of course, but I digress. That's what online shopping is for. Our little apartment is just perfect. It's plenty big enough for the two of us. I'm really not that hard to please.
I got in around 2:00 yesterday and we we're going going going nonstop until bedtime. Hubs got a thoughtful whim up his sleeve yesterday and had flowers and a presh card waiting for me. He tried to get me a bottle of wine as well, but apparently, they don't sell wine on Sundays here. Beer? Yes. They even have a beer drive-thru here.. ha! But you cannot buy wine on Sundays. Weird. We ate and ran a bunch of errands. I straightened up our little haven immediately and got some candles burning so it smells a little more like home.
Got a laundry list of things to do today to keep me busy as well, but I have a feeling that I'll have a lot more time for the gym and blogging. I do have to find something to keep me busy everyday (you know.. like a job). I don't think I'll find errands to do everyday to get me through.
Point of this post: I'm a lot happier than I thought I'd be. It is what you make of it. We'll have NO control over where this life takes us for as long as hubs decides to stay with this. I have to get up every morning and decide to make the best of every situation I'm put in. I can either decide to be miserable or happy. Either way life is going to keep trucking on, so I might as well smack a big fat smile on my face!

Whewww!

Made it much much further than I thought I would today ~ not on purpose! I'm in the middleofnowhere, Arkansas. There is seriously NOTHING out here. I really wanted to stop before it starting getting dark... little did I know that once I got on 40W there would be nothing but fields for miles and miles - and miles. I started getting pretty damn panicky when it was full on dark outside. I was pretty convinced they were going to make the next Wrong Turn horror flick after me. Thankfully, I got a call from one of my many motherish figures back home and we found an exit close by that had lots of hotels. Love the internet!
I'm exhausted and feel the need to get tested for diseases after all the sketch bathrooms I've been in today, but wanna hear the good news?? I'm about 6 hours away from my husband :)
Off to Oklahoma tomorrow!

Moving Day!

Well after all the waiting and all the drama ~sorry about all that~ the big day is finally here. As we speak right now, my house is being rampaged, clearing out room by room. I feel a little awkward. What should I be doing? I've made all the small talk I think I can possibly make (even I have my limit), offered up drinks, it's a strange part of the day to offer any food... so here I am. Standing around blogging while they're clearing out my house.
I have to say - they do a great job. So far at least. What a relief to see other people come in here and do all this crap for me. With my little ADD problem this would have taken me months to get done!
Side note: I'm pretty sure one of them is ganking our liquor. He opened the liquor cabinet and had this conversation with me:
him: all this going?
me: I didn't think you could take any of that.. you know.. being liquid and all.
him: Oh no no.. we can take that.
*he mumbles incoherent nothings as I sadly say goodbye to my yum flavored vodkas, secretly knowing I'll never see them again*

Now that everything is starting to get on a roll, I'm pretty pumped to get on the road Saturday morning. All that's left for me is one more night out with some coworkers tonight, a day of cleaning and buying a GPS, and Friday night with my family. I hope to be in Oklahoma by Sunday night!!

Later added:
I'm convinced this stuff really only happens to me. Luckily I enjoy laughing at myself.
Man those movers are nice and thoughtful. Not only do they come and load up all of your stuff for you so you don't have to lift a finger ~ they then turn around and leave you a gift!! What? They've never left any of you anything? Let me share! Minutes after they leave, I attempt you use the little girls room. As I lift open the toilet seat I have to back away to keep from losing the pizza I just ate. Mr. Mover Man's pizza got to him apparently and decided to relieve himself in my bathroom. He also decided to clog the toilet something fierce. AFTER he packed the plunger I guess. Reaaallyyyyy??? Then he had the audacity to shake my hand before he left. Niiccee.. looks like I'm adding Lowe's into my above list of things to do.

Making the Best of it

A new week seems to have brought out a SLIGHTLY more optimistic view point. I'm not saying I'm magically cured from all my thoughts and worries, but I am a little better off. I'm feeling a tad bit of excitement about getting there, although it is very small, it's still there. Mostly I'm having to just keep myself busy.
Right after I put that last post up, my slightly older BFF called to ask if I wanted to go to the Carolina game with her. UUMMM YESSSSS! I was immediately uplifted and shot out of bed to get ready. To say I was pumped was a little bit of an understatement. I seriously did not plan on getting out of bed for another 5 hours. Just how much fun we had at that game is not going to be discussed here ;) We did a little more tailgaiting than game watching! But anywho ~ that kept me busy all day Saturday.
I wasn't feeling my best Sunday, but went to my parents house to watch the Pats (they sure as hell didn't pick my mood up) then to my in-laws for dinner. I was still in a bit of a funk that day though. Today after work is when I could feel a little bit of a change. Whether it be the ahhmazing workout I had or getting a text from Trey asking me to bring some of my mom's candles with me and to hurry up and get there so I can make that little place a home ~ I could feel something life inside. I'm not delusional and I know I'll go through things like this for a while back and forth, but it was nice to finally feel some optimism again.. and I think I'll ride it for as long as I can :)

PS ~ hubs has been incredibly helpful throughout all of my pity party. I've told him every bit of this and more so and he's been so understanding and uplifting. He's a much better person than me. I'm pretty positive that had the tables been turned and he was the one dreading coming out to live with me in Oklahoma, I may have taken that too personally. He's a saint. The end.

PSS ~ my spell check is playing games with me. If there are too many horrific misspellings (that one included) I'm sorry... I tried to spare you!

The Hard Truth

I am not in a good place right now. I'm not myself at all.
I think I've been fighting this off and on for a couple of months now, but I really think I've fallen into a for real state of depression or something and it's gotten to the point where I'm worried about myself. All I want to do is stay in bed. It's extremely hard for me to get out. I thank God I was called back into work until I leave (a week from today) because I really don't know what I would have done with myself. It's hard for me to eat. Those that know me best are probably ready to have me committed after hearing that. I live for food. Lately the thought of it turns my stomach.
It's gotta be the fact that a big fat dose of reality has hit me about moving. I don't know why I'm so worked up about it. I can't explain why. All I know is every day that it gets closer, the deeper and deeper I sink in to this funk. I don't feel like that is normal. I want to get more and more excited every day because I'm that much closer to living with Trey again. But the simple truth is I'm not. The thought of getting in that car next week and driving away makes me nauseous.
The few people that I've talked to about this that are not military, tell me that this is normal. That I've been living on my own for 8 months and they completely understand how scary it must be to just pack everything up and just go. For the first time in my life, I'm packing up my car and leaving everything I know and am comfortable with. They understand the thoughts that are literally breaking my heart.
What I'm afraid of though, is what everyone else thinks. You girls that have been through this and have been going through it for a long time. Is this normal or do I need some serious help? Please tell me this gets better!

Staying True To My Name

Man... I really feel like I made this whole moving thing way harder on myself than it needed to be. In my defense, we weren't sure if this was going to be considered a PCS move since we're only there until the end of April. And regardless of what the Army considered it ~ I was going with him. Come hell or high water. So, just to be on the safe side, I started packing. One room in our house is dedicated completely to boxes. Not such a good thing says Transportation. Not too big of a deal, but I will have to un-tape all those boxes I took the time to tape. Oh well, done.

Now I've never actually been through one of these moves, but it sounds like it goes pretty smoothly? Feel free to bust my bubble if you feel the need. The only thing I'm a honestly more than a little down about is the fact that hubs is leaving tomorrow. They aren't coming to pack our stuff until the 24th and 25th. Then loading it up on the 28th. Which means I can't leave until then. I know it's only a couple more weeks, but I sho am sick of waiting! I feel like I've been talking about this and waiting for it until I'm blue in the face. The fact that we have had NO CLUE what we're doing all along hasn't really helped, but next time we'll know *hence the title of my blog... Learning As We Go...*

Grrrrrr! I'm ready to get out there and start a new life in Oklahoma!!

I Can Finally Share!

Remember this post?? It felt like it was oh-so-long-ago!! I've been keeping this in for so long. I really didn't mean to keep everyone in suspense (because I know you've just been hanging on the edge of your seat). When I first got this news, I naively thought the owner of the great news was going to let me blab about it all over the Internet. Not so much. But my SIL, Melissa, has FINALLY given me the green light so here it is. Ya ready??


I'm going to have my first niece come the end of January!!! Yup, Trey's sister is 5 months pregnant and she found out today that she is having a little girl. She was so hesitant to let me blab my big mouth about it because she wasn't out in the open with it herself. She is by far old enough to have a baby, but her and her boyfriend aren't planning on getting married right away. And you know, unfortunately there are still stigmas attached to that. So I can't say that I blamed her. But I was just ddyyyyying to come out with this news. Her family is very supportive and we're all pretty dern excited to meet this little girl in January. Well, Trey and I won't be meeting her then, but hopefully not long after! Even though I won't be there to meet her in person, I'm sure her pictures will be all over this blog!

So there you have it... my big news. We're getting Trey all ready for his road trip. Got his car looked at today and oil changed. Got his packing list together. Tonight we're hanging out with my family and going to my brother's baseball game. And tomorrow's the big transportation briefing... at 8:30 in the morning.... Grrrrr!

Stolen!

I saw this post on one of my favorite blogs this morning, Home is Where the Army Sends Us, and had to swipe the idea for myself! I don't have much mental capacity today so here it is:

Sitting... on the futon. Somewhat watching an old episode of Intervention.
Drinking...Nothing at the moment but seriously debating getting a cup of OJ to take my Zyrtec D.
Noting... that since Trey's gotten home there seems to be a lot of random junk appearing all over the house again. I thought I had this all under control. Where is all this crap coming from?
Weighing...the pluses and minuses of showering today. I'd rather not but it may be necessary. I really should at least wash my face.
Tired...yes! From staying up/out too late and getting up earlier than I wanted to.
Thinking... about waaayyy too much. There's usually about 20 random thoughts going through my mind at any given time. It's a wonder a don't go insane.
Wondering... if I should go outside and help Trey with yard work. And if I did would I be doing much good? I feel pretty worthless right now.
Reading... Jodi Piccoult's latest, "Handle With Care". I love it and can't wait to finish it.
Recently finished... said episode of Intervention.
Also wondering...what I'm going to do with my life in Oklahoma.
Needing... more money.
Not liking... know what? I can't think of anything at the top of my head. Why force myself to think about something I'm not liking if I'm not thinking about it already. I'm skipping this one!
Feeling silly... ha! For staying out too late with some girlfriends and drinking more than I intended. And for having to call hubs at a somewhat horrible hour to pick us up. Then having to do the walk of shame this morning in the parking lot I left my car at while the cooks were having a good chuckle to themselves asking me if I had a good night last night.

Denial?

I am feeling NO emotion about this move that is quickly becoming a reality! I don't know what's wrong with me. I came to this conclusion yesterday when I realized I was saying OUT LOUD that I was sad and dreading it, but that's not what I was feeling inside. I've always been such an emotional person, so much so that you might have classified me as emotionally unstable (yeah... that bad), so I think I have been saying that I'm sad and upset because that's what everyone expects me to say (myself included).
I thought I was going to be a WRECK on my last day of work. Not at all. (I'll save that day for it's own separate post). When I think about seeing our friends and families for the last time, I have NO sense of dread or sadness. I really don't think I'm going to even cry. Don't get me wrong... I'm going to miss everyone terribly, but when I moved 15 minutes away from my family I bawled for the entire night. Something's not right here!

I'm thinking the answer to this could be a multitude of things

1. I'm growing up and maturing (ha.. doubtful)
2. I know that it's not really goodbye. My grandfather always taught us that it's "see you later". Goodbye means never again.
3. I'm just that excited to live in a new place with Trey.
4. I'm cold hearted and have no feelings. (kidding)
5. Between blogging, facebook, email, texting, and good ol' fashioned phone calls, I won't feel like I'm very far away anyways.
6. My last thought and hopefully not the correct one.... I have a big fat case of denial.

Of course I'm going to miss everyone, but I think I've been waiting for this for so long that I'm just ready to get this show on the road! We have our transportation briefing Wednesday morning. My first one ever! Wish me luck!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Football season is off to a wonderful start. My cocks started it off with not so much of a bang Thursday night. Yes we won and all but it wasn't necessarily pretty. Quite a boring win and we're still gangster as ever with the dirty moves like trying to break people's necks and all with no shame. Not even trying to hide it. But ya know.. that's who we are. Predictable every year and that's okay.

Tonight's when the REAL excitement starts for me. I've suspected the change rising in me since last year, but this year I'm ready to fully admit it. Hubs has finally changed my heart. After 8 seasons of watching football together.... I admit defeat. My heart fully bleeds Crimson.

First game is tonight against Virginia Tech and I cannot wait. Never fails to be an exciting game and i'm praying I know this season will be as good, if not better, than last year. Remember last year? We go undefeated all year and then lose the SEC Championship game to Fl and the bowl game against Utah. I can stand losing to Florida... it's Florida.. nuff said. But Utah? Utah??? Ohhh it's too painful to even bring back those memories. I sometimes think that's really the reason hubs joined the Army shortly after that game. Life as he knew it could never be the same after that.

One thing I will miss on that field this year? This delicious piece of juice:

John Parker Wilson ~ what will I do without having you to drool over cheer on all season??? I'll tell you what tonight's energy will be focused on. Coughing, blowing my nose until it's raw, and spitting out continuous drainage. (sorry for that disturbing visual). That's right, it's my turn to have the crud. I'm just praying I don't pass it on to Trey before he makes the trip out to Oklahoma Thursday!

Just a lil Update & a Memory

Nothing much going on around here! We've just been enjoying each other's company constantly.. with a slight little interuption called work. Not such a bad thing though... this is my last week working there and I'm getting a little emotional about that. I know Friday's going to be a pretty rough day for me. Better believe that when we go out for dinner Friday night with friends that hubs is going to have to be DD. His turn ~ I think I'm going to have one of those drown my tears in beer nights ;)

We went to church Sunday morning. I mention this because it was a little moment I had where I felt extremely close to my grandmother. It was nice. Speaking of which, I have a copy of her obituary I want to post. Not so much because I think you will all find it thrilling, more so because I know I'll always have a copy of it if I put it here. Sad that I don't know how to keep things like that other than blogging anymore? Maybe.


Ann V. (Riggs) McGrane
MARLBOROUGH Ann V. (Riggs) McGrane, 82, of Marlboro, formerly of Hudson and Florida, died on Friday, Aug. 28th at Bolton Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Marlboro with her loving family at her side. She was the beloved wife of the late William McGrane who died in 2002. Ann was born in Frederick, Maryland, daughter of the late Floyd and Anna Riggs. She attended Culinary Arts School for two years after high school in Rochester, NY and was a Chef at the former Saint Anns Convent in Marlboro for many years. Anna and her husband William resided in Hudson for many years before retiring to Florida for 20 years. She has resided in Marlboro the last 9 years. She is survived by her son, Michael G. McGrane of Worcester; four daughters, Kathleen Blood and her husband Ronald of Hudson, Lynda Gordon of Athol, MA, Carolyn Sciabarrasi and her husband Dennis of Lunenburg and Ann Yetton and her husband Charlie of Columbia, South Carolina. She is also survived by her ten Grandchildren and eleven Great Grandchildren. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Monday, Aug. 31st at 9:00 a.m. in the Immaculate Conception Church, 11 Prospect Street, Marlboro. Burial will take place at the convenience of the family. There are no calling hours. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of: Tighe-Hamilton Funeral Home, Inc. 50 Central St. Hudson, MA 01749. (www.tighehamilton.com). In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Ann may be made to:
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American Cancer Society, 30 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701.

Other big plans for the week:
The gym tomorrow is a must for the both of us.
Thursday night = first Carolina game of the season ~ holllllaaaa! I'm so excited. We'll be getting together with some friends to watch that massacre.
Friday night = dinner with more friends and said plans of drowning my tears.
Saturday = gym and first Alabama game. Hubs is beyond thrilled

It'll be a VERRRRY happy household if we can pull out a win for Carolina AND Bama this week... keep your fingers crossed. Unless of course your a NC State or Virginia Tech fan. If so, uncross those fingers!!