Saturday, December 8, 2012

Homesick

There's nothing like being homesick during the holidays. I didnt think it would affect me to much because I was expecting cold weather for Christmas. I haven't had a truly cold Christmas in over 15 years. Florida doesn't typically get very cold at all during the winter, and I thought Texas would at least give me a more seasonable feel.

Well from everything I can tell, this Christmas will be unseasonably warm for this area. Got figure. Then to top it off this will be my first Christmas without my parents. I managed to survive my first thanksgiving without them with the help of my mother in law. But Christmas will be just me and J, most of our friends are going home so it will be a difficult one for me.

Then to top it off I am highly emotional for other reasons. We are officially trying to conceive, and are having more difficulty than we expected. Having gotten pregnant by chance before we truly didn't think we would that hard of a time. So I've been feeling like a bit of a failure recently.

It's difficult to see my friends who are getting pregnant and having little ones. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely happy and ecstatic for them, but I'm sad for me at the same time.

I know it will happen when the time is right, but that doesnt make it any easier. I was just really hoping to get pregnant before we head to Hawaii, and while I know we have some time yet, my hopes for that are starting to dwindle.

Hopefully my spirits will turn around soon. Afterall Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Writer's Block

So the last couple of months I've really been struggling with writer's block, and frankly still am! I have turned another year older, as well as my husband. We have started to plan for the holidays. I am looking forward to the family coming to visit over the next few months. I've been doing a lot of life reflecting!

I've struggled with turning 27, yeh I know it's not old, but it's a turning point. I don't exactly see myself as a grown-up even though I am. I don't feel old, usually. I look at how much I have grown, matured, changed, and accomplished over the years. Next year is my 10 year high school reunion which seems almost impossible. Sadly I don't think I will be able to go due to our move to Hawaii. This makes me sad, but I only talk to a handful from school anyway. I'm not quite where I thought I'd be when I turned 27, but at the same time I wouldn't change where I am. I also feel the crunch of certain clocks now, which I'm not overly thrilled about.

We are officially planning our Thanksgiving and Christmas things. We are planning our dinner for Thanksgiving which will include some of the single soldier's in Jesse's unit. We don't want anyone to be left out! We are planning our Christmas gifts for our families, since we aren't heading home. Lots of homemade gifts this year are in the works! These are definitely going to be thoughtful and useful!

From now till the end of the year there is at least one family member coming to visit a month! I'm excited and will make the holidays seem a little more bearable. We don't know yet if any family will be with us on Christmas yet, but at least we'll see them beforehand.

As I start my homemade gifts I'll be sure to share some tips that I find for some of these projects! Wish me luck in solving this writer's block!!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Yay for 4 Day Weekends!!!

Oh, 4 day weekends how I love you! It feels like a mini vacation with my husband, even if we don't go anywhere! We can do whatever we want for 4 glorious days!! Plus on top of that, it's pay day!!! Of course we don't have a lot of money to waste, but the weekend always seems to be better when it's payday!

So what are our plans for this weekend, you may ask?

~ Finish up my craft project of refinishing a wine rack, more to come on this.
~ Search Home Depot and Lowe's for the supplies I need for one of my home made Christmas Gifts
~ Picnic at Lake Belton
~ Central Texas State Fair - Yay for horrible for you Fair Food!!
~ Possible BBQ
~ Giving this puppy a very long over due bath:
~ Spending some much needed quality time with my wonderful hubby!!

For those of you who are in a deployment cycle, I will make sure to hug my love extra tight for you! Those who have their husbands home, I ask you to do the same! Enjoy your time with them, that next deployment is always just around the corner!






This song by Keith Urban, strengthens my appreciation for our military men and women every time I hear it. I've always had a strong sense of appreciation growing up with a father in the Navy and deployed for, what seems like, over half of my childhood. This is how I always understood the mentality to be. If I could have done it, I would have, but something kept telling me that my job was to be a military wife like my mom! Love you Mom!!  So enjoy Keith Urban's "For You"



Sunday, August 26, 2012

Cabbage Chili? or Cabbage soup? You Decide

      So hubby has to weigh in this week, which means extremely healthy eating in this house. The purpose of anything we eat coming up to a weigh in is nutritious, filling, and easy on the waist line. So this time I decided to look into making Cabbage Soup. After looking at some recipes online, I made my own version, and it is amazing! After eating it for dinner tonight, I realized there are many versions of this to be made, from extremely healthy and vegetarian to full on chili. So I have decided to share with you, how to make my version. I apologize for not having more pictures or better quality, but I didn't decide on sharing this until it was well into the cooking phase!


When I make this it fills my stock pot, I think it has a 6qt capacity. The cabbage and chicken stock can be reduced to fit into your stock pot. Of course this will be easy to freeze and has plenty of left overs.

Katie's Basic Cabbage Chili/Soup

* 1 Medium Yellow Onion - Diced
* 3 Large Cloves Garlic - Diced/Chopped
* 1 Bunch Fresh Spinach - Chopped
* 4 Celery Stalks - Diced/Chopped
* 4 Medium Carrots - Shredded/Grated
* 1 Medium Head of Green Cabbage - Chopped
* 2 Cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
* 1 Can Navy Beans - Drained
* 1 Can Garbanzo Beans - Drained
* 1 Can Kidney Beans - Drained
* 6 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
* Olive oil
* Salt and Pepper (I prefer Kosher or Sea Salt for this)
* Garlic Powder
* Onion Powder
* Chili Powder
* Ground Cumin


Step One:  Sauté onion, garlic, and spinach in olive oil. Season with a little salt and pepper
Step Two: Add about one cup of Chicken Stock and deglaze the pan
Step Three: Add Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, and approximately 3 cups of chicken stock.
Step Four: Season to taste with Salt, Pepper, Onion powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, and Ground
Cumin.
Step Five: Add Tomatoes, Beans, and remaining chicken stock to cover all ingredients.
Step Six: Simmer on low for at least two hours stirring occasionally.
This is ready to eat when the cabbage is soft and cooked through. 
Top with your favorite soup/chili toppings!



Full Stock Pot of Cabbage Chili


Variations of Katie's Cabbage Soup/Chili
* Add 8oz package of Diced Ham for a little more substance
or
* Brown one pound hamburger and drain before Sautéeing onions, garlic, and spinach for a truly hearty chili



I made this version of Cabbage Chili with Diced Ham

My Bowl of Cabbage Chili with some Shredded Cheese on Top

The best thing about this soup/chili is that it takes exactly like regular chili to me. It has great flavor and is extremely hearty with or without meat. For those that don't like cabbage, this wasn't very strong on the cabbage flavor. I think the tomato really subsides the strong flavor of the cabbage.

So what do you think, is this a soup or chili?

 

 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Link Up: Friday's Letters

Ok, so I have never done a link-up with another blog before, but I figured I would give it a try. So I'm linking up with Ashley for Friday's Letters.





Dear Husband, Thank you for being you and supporting me in everything I do. Thank you for supporting me in the decision to quit a job I didn't like!

Dear Housing Maintenance, I hope that you are right and that we only have stress fractures in our walls and that the house won't fall down around our ears. If it does, I'm coming after you!

Dear FRG, you drive me batty with how little support we can drum up from over 200 members. If my wonderful husband gets pulled up to brigade, I don't know how much I'll miss the headache. I'm sure I will miss it, but I would like to have my sanity back.

Dear Denice, I couldn't handle the FRG on my own, without you I would have quit a long time ago! If he does get pulled to brigade, I will miss working with you, but I will still help with the things we planned if I'm still allowed!

Dear Lexy, I love you pup, but you need to stop clawing me out of jealousy. It hurts and you can't do that when another little one is on the way.

Dear Texas, please start cooling off, it was wonderful earlier this week! I would love to feel the fall weather again!

Dear husband, I love you more than you know! I'm excited for our future!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Joy

    So this morning while I was doing my normal morning social media catch up, I read this post by fellow blogger Fran at FreeBorboleta. This was something that I needed to read today. She talks about the difference between Fun and Joy in life. (Make sure to take a look, it's a great read.)

    I have been feeling kind of down over the life I had in Florida versus what I have here in Texas. I have been thinking about all the things I would do and all the fun I had while living there. I think about the friends I am no longer able to see all the time, and the lack of friends that I have here. Fran's post got me thinking a little deeper on my past and present. I started to examine if I was just having fun or if I had joy in Florida, and also what I have here.

    I had both fun and joy while living in Florida! In Texas, I still have joy with some moments of fun. I have always tried to do what will make me happy, which I equate to joy in most circumstances. I am filled with joy in my every day life. No my life may not be exciting and always filled with fun, but I am happy. I wouldn't trade my life here with my husband for anything,  not even to be back in Florida where I had a lot of fun.

    I know the fun will come back, it always does. I will make new friends and I will have fun with them, it just takes time. Until then I will continue to be happy with my life and enjoy the fun, no matter how unconventional it may seem now, with my husband and few friends I have here. To my friends from back home, you know you are always welcome in my home!

Enjoy some of my favorite memories from the past year and half in Florida. By the way, if anyone can tell me how to put multiple pictures on a line, feel free to let me know!
















Monday, August 13, 2012

Thinking of the Future with Baby Fever

This is my first official post on anything worth writing, lol. I have decided that I will start writing about more than just what happens in my day to day life, because frankly, at this time, it's not that interesting! So instead I am going to write about something in particular from my very ordinary life that might be of some interest. Of course, I'm sure I will still write about the mundane, but my goal is to write something with more substance! Now on to the substance!!

After everything that happened earlier this year with the pregnancy, and with our impending move next year, hubby and I have had some serious decisions to make regarding future children. We decided that with the high probability of him deploying shortly after getting to our new post, we want to have a baby before he leaves. With the length of recovery, we knew that I would deliver to close to the move and one way or another he would end up leaving to our new home before I could. We definitely do not want that, if we can help it. So based on all of that fun stuff we decided that we can stop preventing this fall. We decided on this a few months ago, but now that the date is about a month a way, baby fever has officially hit!

Living with baby fever and ample time on my hands, I have had time to begin planning! My husband of course, thinks I am crazy! Here's my logic, we will be losing roughly 2 months, if not more, of planning time because of our move, then we will basically have one month left before baby comes! I am way to indecisive and change my mind to often to wait until we are officially pregnant to make some of the big choices! Ok, maybe I am a little extra anxious, but I still have a valid point!

Have any of you had baby fever like this??

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Back to normal

So things have been a little crazy in my household. As you may know, I am now the FRG Leader for my husband's battery. That has kept me very busy, and I'm almost to the point of pulling my hair out with it. We also had block leave last month, which was nice. I got some much needed one on one time with my hubby, as well as have a few days back in my home town! I have also started working again, but that's another can of worms that is better saved for a time I'm more calm after working. With everything that has been happening and changing over the last couple of months, it has seemed beyond hectic. Things finally seem to be settling down here again, or at least we are finding a new routine with all that has been added to our plates.

The best thing over the past couple of months was definitely block leave. We drove to FL for a week. What a long drive that is! We don't enjoy the drive in any sense, but it tends to be cheaper. We decided to take our pup with us because of length of time we were going to be gone, but had our friends come by and feed the cat. It was the first road trip the pup had been on, and we were slightly nervous because she wasn't overly fond of car rides. What dog doesn't like car rides?? She doesn't get sick in the car, just seemed to get really nervous. Thankfully she got over it, but was over being in the car for long periods of time. We made a horrible decision to drive straight through to FL on the way there, I do not suggest it! On the way back we left earlier than planned but broke up the drive and took some of the scenic routes. That was nice, I got to see some coastal places I hadn't before. I think we found some awesome future vacation spots though!

I'm making a goal with myself to blog at least once a week and talk about some important things rather than just ranting all of the time. In the mean time, I hope my few followers will bare with me!

Outside of our Hotel on the way back from FL

This is one of the many uncomfortable looking positions pup slept in during the road trip

Family photo at the rest stop in AL on the way back to TX

These are individual glasses of wine! Found this in a Gas Station in a little town here in TX

My hubby and I at the 4th of July Concert on post. He of course hates this one, but for some odd reason I love it!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Take an extra minute to remember

To my readers I ask you a to take a moment to remember what it is your spouse/SO does in the military. I know not all of you are military affiliated, and if you are not, then take a minute to think what it would mean. I was at a marriage retreat this weekend with J's battalion, and some of the things I heard made me cringe, even from seasoned spouses. Then I got home and read this incredible blog from "To Love a Soldier". Please take a moment to hop on over there and read it. I know it's difficult to realize that as loved ones of military personnel we don't always come first, but they love us no less, remember that. 



To Love a Soldier: Missed Understanding: The Garrison Command of our post put on an online townhall via Facebook sometime ago. Reps from every major part of post life were in "atte...

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Quick Update

So things are going as well as possible here I guess. I am still going through an emotional roller coaster. I think it's mostly hormonal still, but I'm really tired of it. I have always struggled with my temper, but I can barely control it currently. I truly hate that, it's embarrassing. I am doing my best though and J is still fully supportive.

It is currently my turn to take care of him. He had his eye surgery done on Monday. I currently feel like I'm living with a vampire or a mole, I'm not sure which. I will be happy when we can have a light on or even the TV and it not hurt his eyes. It makes being productive at night difficult.

I am full swing into my new position as FRG Leader. We have a few big events coming up and I'm still trying to get organized. I have an amazing Co-Leader; I truly don't think I could do what I'm doing without her. Now if only we could get the rest of the team filled out we would be great! At least the commander is completely on board and behind us!

I'm still trying to figure out what direction I really want to take my blog. I know I'm still getting my feet wet with a lot of things, so it is taking me some time. Hopefully there will be some craft posts, DIY sections, food posts, and who knows what else. Any suggestions?? Once I start getting a little better following maybe I'll even be able to do a give away, who knows?


Monday, April 30, 2012

4 weeks

So I am officially 4 weeks post op. The bruising is almost completely gone. I am almost back to my normal emotional roller coaster. Granted I still have moments of intense sadness and feelings of failure. Still, over the last 6 weeks since this all started there have been some great things that I have finally been able to see.

Yes my house is still a disaster and I'm trying to get it back under control, but finding the motivation is difficult most days. I have a wonderfully supportive husband who looks at me when I am beyond frazzled and stressed and tells me it will all be ok. Rather than be upset because the floors aren't swept and there are still dishes in the sink,  he looks at me, holds me, tries to make me laugh, and even helps me make it out of the house. He doesn't get upset or disappointed because he knows I'm still struggling. I couldn't ask for a better partner.

Last week J re-enlisted. I couldn't be more proud of him. Don't get me wrong I am upset because that does mean at least one more deployment for us, but I couldn't be more proud of my soldier for what he is doing. I know that no matter what obstacles are thrown our way we will be able to make it through to the other side still standing.

We also found our for sure where our next duty station will be!! Drum Roll please....... and the winner is HAWAII!!!! Yes, you read that right, Hawaii. We are stuck in the hood for a year, but next spring we will be on our way to paradise! I had very mixed feelings at the beginning of our attempt to get there. It is a very long way from home for me, it's not even in the continental U.S! It has definitely grown on me though. After all how many people get to experience living there? I am absolutely nervous about being that far away from my parents, and the amount it will cost for any of us if we need to fly to the other. I am trying to stay positive about it as much as possible, and not think about the possible downfalls.

I also went to my first FRG meeting last week. It was interesting, of course almost all of the current "officers" are leaving due to PCSing and the like. So they were on the hunt for new officers. I am now the new leader of our FRG. That's right I said leader! I still have mixed feelings. I know some will say I am making a horrible decision, but we will see. If I don't like it, I can always resign my position. I am hoping to make it what it is truly meant to be, not a gossip hall. FRGs are supposed to help encourage comradery not divide us. So we shall see if this happen or if I have completely lost my mind. I got to training the next two days.

So wish me luck on these new endeavors and hope that I can keep my sanity!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

What doesn't kill us....


I know, I know, I have been absent for a couple of weeks yet again. I think after reading this, you will forgive me. I have had an internal battle since this started as to whether or not I really wanted to write about. Now that this difficult chapter is nearing the end, I feel more comfortable sharing. Forewarning, this is a little long.

On March 21st, something told me that I needed to take a pregnancy test. Even though I was a week away from my next expected period, my previous one wasn't any where near normal for me. Because of the strong urge I felt to take one, I finally caved and did it. It was positive. While I wanted nothing more than to be excited, my gut told me that something was wrong. When J came home, I told him that I took a test and it was positive. He was beyond ecstatic. It was utterly heartwarming. He wanted to call and tell everyone he was going to be a daddy. I told him that I wanted to wait until we saw a doctor and made sure that everything was ok, and he reluctantly but happily obliged.

The next day we went to the women's center on post and were able to do a walk-in appointment. After an all day event of waiting and testing, we found out that yes we were indeed pregnant, but the ultrasound showed that it was ectopic. After the doctor left to look at all the results and arrange follow up testing to confirm, I had to explain what this meant to my husband. The look on his face of pure disappointment was heart breaking. Since it was almost 5pm, the doctor sent me for a formal ultrasound and then to the ER to await the confirmation results and to explain our options.

The doctor met us in the ER and further explained what the ectopic pregnancy meant. Coming from a medical background, I knew most of the complications, but they were a game changer in my husband's eyes and they way he viewed what this pregnancy meant. The doctor explained that I had two options, medication or surgery. I didn't know medication was an option, but he thought it was our best option and that it had a very good success rate with almost no implication on fertility. He explained that it would be a very painful option as it is a chemotherapy drug and the different side effects that go along with it. I received two injections of the medication, one in each butt cheek. I was sent home with a very low dose prescription pain reliever and a nausea medication.

Over the next 24 hours, my pain was intense but tolerable. I was on bed rest anyway so that was tremendously helpful. I am beyond thankful to J's command for giving him the day off to take care of me. The doctor said that my pain would increase over the next few days as the medication took effect, and that I was to only take the pain meds as directed and nothing else because of the risk of bleeding. The directions on the bottle was 1 pill every 4-6 hours. I started taking them at every 6 and after two doses was having to increase when I took them, to the point that making it to 4 hours was a challenge. That Friday evening, my pain level shot up from a 5 to a 9 in less than 2 minutes with no warning. I had taken my last pain pill 3 and half hours ago. I managed to get a pill down and within 20 minutes I was going into shock from the pain.

The doctor warned us that if my pain became excruciating we needed to go back to the ER because the pregnancy could have ruptured. After 30 minutes of no pain relief and me crying and shaking we went to the ER. After being made to feel like an idiot by the triage nurses we were finally put into a room, I was comforted by the doctors and nurses telling me I did the right thing by coming in. After over 8 hours in the ER, we were finally told that it had not ruptured. The on-call OBGYN better explained what was going on, and what I could do at home to better relieve the pain, she was also so kind as to change my pain meds. Things were getting better after that.

I got my blood drawn when I was supposed to and went to my 1 week follow up where I was told everything looked good and for the next couple weeks just to get my blood drawn until my hormone levels were considered negative.

Fast forward to Sunday April 1st, and no this is not an April Fool's joke. That night J and I decided to go see The Hunger Games. Before the movie started, I began to have some abdominal pain that felt like gas. A little more than halfway through the movie the pain was really intense so I decided I would get up and walk to the restroom, thinking that would move things around and I could relieve the pressure. While I was walking down the stairs to leave the theater I became very dizzy. As soon as I walked out the door I knew I was about to faint. I eased myself to the floor and by the time I was on my hand and knees I fainted. I lost about 10-20 seconds of time. Needless to say we didn't finish the movie. An employee got my hubby for me and the manager was kind enough to give us guest passes since we didn't finish the movie. I refused to go to the ER because I was sure that I only passed out because of how quickly I was moving and there was no cause for concern.

I tried everything I could think of when we got home to relieve the pressure. It had been a very long time since I had gas pain that severe, but I was familiar with the procedure. After a few hours of trying to relieve the pressure with no success and worsening pain, J finally convinced me we needed to go to the ER. When we would try to get me up, I would get very nauseous and feel like I was going to pass out again. I ended up throwing up at one point and we thought for sure that would help ease my pain, it didn't. I barely made it out of the house before I felt like I would pass out and started vomiting again. J decided to call an ambulance for me since I couldn't even make it to the truck, even though the hospital is less than 5 miles away.

By the time I made it to the hospital my pain was increasing, my blood pressure rising, my heart was racing, and it hurt to take a deep breath. I was beginning to think that I was suffering from appendicitis or the worse gas pain imaginable. J was of course hoping for the latter. After many horrible hours of excruciating pain and probing tests we finally had an answer. The pain meds only worked for about 20 minutes at a time and I could barely move I was in so much pain. At about 630am it was discovered that I had blood pooling behind my uterus and the most likely cause was that the ectopic pregnancy was ruptured.  Within an hour and a half I was in the OR.

I was one of the few very unlucky women that after more than 72hours of the medication being administered suffered from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The doctors were able to clean everything up and perform the surgery laproscopically, but they had to take the fallopian tube associated with the pregnancy. I was released from the hospital later that afternoon, but before that I managed to incur one more injury. Because my muscles were so fatigued from the pain, when I got up to use the restroom, even with assistance, I managed to rupture a surface blood vessel near one of the incisions. Yeh, I'm special. The doctors assured me it was self containing and explained what to watch out for to determine if it needed to be examined.

My mom was wonderful and flew in the next day to help take care of me for a week, and J's command was also fantastic and gave him the week off to be with me.

It has been a long and slow recovery process, but today is two weeks since the surgery. Physically I still look like someone tried to run me over, but I am getting stronger every day and am slowly returning to normal. Emotionally I am still on a horrible roller coaster. I have good days and bad, but the good are starting to be a little more frequent. J has been absolutely amazing, I couldn't ask for a better partner. Heck, I've been living in his pajama pants and basketball shorts for two weeks since almost nothing of mine fits because of the swelling.

If you read all of this, I'm impressed. I told you it was long, but it helps me to write about it. It is helping me to heal by facing what happened. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you have them, I will answer them. Here's a few of the oh so awesome progress pictures....

This was the night of the surgery, three incisions.
    

These were Thursday morning after my surgery.








The Saturday after my surgery, told you I looked like got run over by a truck, lol


11 days after surgery





Today, 2 weeks post surgery.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Time to catch up

So I have lots of things to get you all caught up on. The last two and a half weeks have been really busy. Hubby was promoted, I went to my first Military Ball, went through my first night alone, we had our first BBQ, and went through our first TX spring storm.

The Military Ball was nice, it took a while to find a dress. I managed to find a really pretty purple one strap dress the day before the ball. Of course it was freezing, so I was thankful that I bought a matching a shawl to help keep me warm for the walk from the parking lot. The one picture that I have of us isn't flattering we both look quite chubby. Once we get the professional pictures back I will post it. The dinner was surprisingly amazing. Very very tasty and the take home gift was one of the best favors in a while. Wine Glasses engraved with the Battalion's insignia and motto. Overall it was a really nice night.

 Of course two day's later hubby has his first CQ duty with his new rank. Luckily it was a gloomy and rainy day so I didn't really want to do anything anyway. I made Chicken Noodle Soup, biscuits, and brownies to take up to him for dinner. Of course I made multiple trips up to him because he would call me every few hours and ask me to bring him something. I know he couldn't leave because he was the one in charge, but I'm not sure how much he wanted those things versus wanting to see me. Luckily where he was from our house is not even a mile away. If it wasn't raining I could have walked.

Since I haven't been that social lately and haven't met that many people yet. We decided that for Saint Patrick's Day we would have a BBQ. I spent the day before baking many many cupcakes. I made three different types. Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, a Hard Cider cupcake with a Chocolate Guinness Frosting, and for the kids Funfetti cupcakes with Green Vanilla Frosting and homemade green sprinkles. Then for the actual BBQ we had hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob done on the grill, jalapeno poppers, Veggie platter, chips, dip, salsa, meatballs, broccoli casserole, 7 layer dip, and I'm sure there's things I'm forgetting. It was good party and turn out. People actually stayed for quite a while so I was pleasantly surprised.

After the BBQ we were invited by two other couples to go to the dirt track for racing. It was a lot of fun and entertaining to watch. It definitely made me miss home though. It was a nice cheap date though. Only $12/person to get in and hours of unexpected entertainment including people watching. It definitely helped that we had good company.

Then for the big bang we went through our first Texas Spring Storm. The way this thing was hyped up I expected it to be much worse. But it equated to a good summer thunderstorm in FL. I can understand why they freak out over it though, especially when they aren't used to it. I agree that it could have been much worse, there could have been tornadoes and bigger hail and still stronger winds. Luckily there wasn't. I would have felt right at home if the storm had happened during the afternoon.

I think that's everything major that has happened the past couple of weeks. I promise I'm trying to get better and more frequent at this! Have a fantastical day and congratulations if you read this far!!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Change of Scenery

Sorry I have been absent for so long, but a LOT of things have happened since my last update.

For starters, February 16th was my last day at my job. I have some amazing coworkers that I miss dearly, they were my family for over 3 years. That Thursday was the hardest day of my career. Before work I cried probably 3 times. While I was at work I was teary eyed most of the day. My Coworkers brought in ice cream, rootbeer, icecream cake, and other goodies for my last day. Lab people love to eat, LOL! Not only that but they all chipped in and got me a more than generous Visa gift card! By the time I left at the end of my shift, I was crying my eyes out. I miss my coworkers! That was a very difficult night, I didn't sleep at all.

I finally got a little sleep before I needed to get up and get started on packing. When I had a wonderful and much needed surprise. Hubby surprised me and flew in on a 4 day pass to help me start packing. I was shocked, sleep deprived, ungroomed, and so happy to see him. I definitely needed him for support after that rough day. Of course, I was in tears once again!

He not only helped me get quite a bit of packing done, but also made sure that I was eating. I have a tendency to skip that when I'm stressed. We also had a going away party that Saturday night. I was truly touched by how many people came! It meant a lot to me.

That following week was filled with packing and getting rid of stuff. I had to take him to the airport Monday morning to fly back to Texas, but I got to pick him back up Friday evening. Saturday morning we got the uhaul and with the help of my parents got everything loaded up. Sunday morning we were on the road. Finally got to our place late Monday night/ early Tuesday morning.

With the help of two privates, the truck was unloaded in less than an hour. It took 4 times that to load it. All I could do was stand back and watch, I wasn't sure if I should be scared or impressed! I have been on an unpacking marathon since. My kitchen is 95% done, the living/dining room are about 50% same as the bathrooms. Once those are done, the rest will happen at a slower pace. It is coming together though.

I will post pictures once I have them. This weekend we have to find me a dress for the ball next week, and also force me to start driving around out here. The thought currently scares me. We live on post and I've never driven on post before. Not to mention this place is HUGE!!! I'm afraid I'm going to get lost and end up at the wrong area of post.  Well wish me luck!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Nocturnal

I know I've been mia again, but I assure you there's a lot going on. First and foremost, I'm becoming more nocturnal than usual. I have always been more of the night owl, but recently it has gotten out of hand. I have 2, yes 2, days of work left, and for the last two weeks I have not been sleeping well. This has gotten progressively worse. Normally I can take a nice 3mg melatonin pill and 30mins later I'm fast asleep and wake up refreshed. Not now, I take my wonderful sleeping aid and an hour and a half later I'm still wide awake.

Yes, I realize that this is all probably stress, anxiety, nervousness, and excited-ness related, (I'm pretty sure I just made up a word there, forgive me) but this is getting a little out of hand. I need my sleep, I get grumpy when I don't get enough sleep. We are officially reaching a dangerous number of days without enough sleep. Normally I'm in bed by 2am at the latest during the week, I work 2nd shift, but lately it's 4 or later before the sand man finally decides to visit.

Lack of sleep and my rollercoaster emotions are taking their toll on my sanity and relationship with my husband. I get very snippy and reserved in times like these and with us being so far apart it makes me feel even more isolated. This in turn makes me more agitated, as well as hubby. He tries so hard to be there for me and be understanding and calm me down, but in turn it just ticks me off even more. I try to control the emotions, but sometimes I snap. This distance while we are in the same country is not good for us, especially considering that we haven't gotten that much time together in general. Total time together since Dec 2010 - 6 weeks at most, and I think I'm over estimating. I know things will get better when we get to be together for a few days, they always are.

I'm just very thankful that we decided to get married and get me moved when we did. Yes, I'm sad that our families and friends couldn't be there, but overall this was the best decision. Things are getting extremely bad and stressful where I work and it is more than time to leave the place where I trained for my profession and later got hired. It's not the same, it has changed, and no where near a good way when safety is compromised.

I have a lot of work to get done in a week. Once Friday comes I will be unemployed, by choice and necessity, and the packing will begin. Look out Texas, here I come, curly hair and all. LOL

BTW I hope you all had a wonderful love day. I hope you all had good company to spend some time with. My day consisted of beautiful flowers from hubby and an always interesting day with coworkers.

Now if only hubby would start to feel better and I could start getting some sleep, I would be much happier. Goodnight all!! (Wish me luck)

Monday, February 6, 2012

Busy busy

Forgive me as I am kind of slacking with updated this blog. These next few weeks are going to be very hectic. I only have two weeks left at work and three weeks left in the state of Florida. I have to get my fully furnished two bedroom apartment fully packed up before my hubby flies in. Once he is here, we have to go get the moving truck and load it up and hit the road. It'll take us approximately two days to make the drive. Not fun at all.

So this was my last weekend of "freedom" before the big move. Friday was spent finishing getting my name changed and few other errands. Saturday was spent at my parents getting my car tunes up and packing some stuff up that I still have there. Of course I got to have a wonderful free meal of smoked chicken wings!!

Then of course there was today, SuperBowl Sunday! Today I went to a coworker's for his annual party. I will miss getting to go to all of the other parties he has. By request I made Jalapeno poppers.

I made them for last year's 4th of July Party and they were gone within 30mins, today they were gone in about 20 and I made more this time than last. Such a simple and amazing recipe my dad came up.


I had a lot of fun at the party. Played some poker, had interesting conversations, and of course watched the game and commercials! Not only did the team I was going for win I also won some money for one of the square sheets we had. Overall it was a good weekend, just wish hubby could have been here too.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Things are moving right along

Things are seeming to fall into place very quickly for us, hopefully this is a good trend and something bad isn't right around the corner. Hubby will be getting the keys to our new place on post right around Feb 9th! I'm excited and really wish I could be there for it, but I'll be along not to far after. We officially have a plan in place and leave scheduled for him to move me from my home on the beautiful Florida Space Coast to Texas. I have even put in my notice at work!

I have mixed feelings on Texas. I will be landlocked, and I am not a fan. No more, although infrequent now days, off shore fishing for me. No more random strolls on the beach at all hours of the day and night. No more smell of the ocean. I don't know how well this is going to go for me. Yet, I am keeping as much of an open mind as possible. I also keep telling myself that this is not permanent. I can always come back, even if its 25years from now. I am also excited to get to be in the same state and house with my husband for more than 2 weeks at a time. This will definitely be an adjustment for us, but I think we will survive it just fine. It will be nice to get to see a new area and find new places to hang out and things to do. There will definitely be upsides to this, but there's a lot of change for me as well. I may be a Navy Brat, but I got extremely lucky on the moving aspect and only moved once. I've been here for most of my life, talk about a big adjustment coming up.

I'm also excited and sad about putting in my notice at work today. I have been there for over three years. I did all of my clinical rotations where I am and got hired after. My coworkers are definitely family to me. We've been through a lot together, including being bought out my another company and getting "used" to them. I may not like who I work for now, but I love who I work with. They are the reason I wanted to work there after clinicals and have stayed there after the corporation took over. It will definitely be a sad last day for me, almost like the last day of school.

I have a feeling I will have many homesick days ahead of me. Thankfully I have a very loving and understanding husband that has promised me when I need absolutely need it, he'll find a way to get me home for a few days. I'm a big girl though, and just like my mom could do it, I know I can. Now let's hope the good vibes keep flowing and the other shoe is quite far away before it drops.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

It's Official

That's right, I am officially an Army Wife. My Soldier and I, after much deliberation, decided to elope! Yes, it was a short engagement, and boy do I mean short! He asked me to marry him on December 31st and on January 13th we said "I do".

Thankfully all of the family took it well. Only a few people knew beforehand. We knew that we were going to have a short engagement, only a couple months to begin with, but after really thinking about it we decided to skip the big to-do for now. However, we will plan a big celebration around our one year so that all of our family and friends can be there.

It was an interesting weekend, had an early flight into Panama City Beach Friday morning to meet my soldier. His mom picked us up from the airport, from there we ran a few errands and then went to the courthouse. She was gracious enough to let it just be the two of us since my parents couldn't be with us. We got married and then took a few photos before having lunch with my new mother-in-law. But our time in Panama City was limited, we had to start the long road trip to Texas.

My Army Guy was tired of not having his truck in Texas, so we had to pick it up from his mom's and drive it back. I didn't want him driving the 15hrs alone so I took an extra day off of work to go with him. Let me tell you, I am NOT looking forward to making that trip again when we move me. That was not fun, and talk about some shady looking places along the way.

Now begins the process of getting me into the military system so that I can move out there with him. Fingers crossed that in a little over a month I will be moving. Here's to hoping!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

New Adventure

So first off, I have to ask you all to bear with me. It has been a very long time since I've done anything like this.It will take me a while to get the hang of blogging, from the set up to posting. 

I have been very inspired by the blogs I have been reading, and how they have helped me with my journey so far. I think this will help me reach out to the new adventure my life is taking me. The last year has definitely been a whirlwind, and it's only about to get crazier. I'm excited, scared, and nervous all at the same time. I'm hoping those who read this will help keep me strong, and will be there when I need the support. 

Let's get this new adventure started!!