Home for the Holidays.

In a week, my husband and I will be traveling to Michigan to spend the holiday with my family (we alternate every year). We will fly into Chicago on the 21st and take the train to Michigan City, IN, where my dad will pick us up. He usually picks us up from the airport, but my sister and her husband and baby are coming in that day too, and there won't be enough room in the car for all of us. We're staying until the 26th, so it should be a good time.

I am looking forward to the snow, even though people think I'm crazy for it! I love snow on Christmas. I hated it when I lived there, but when you live in parts of the country where snow is rare, you kind of miss it - and I do! I'm sure after a week of the white stuff, I'll be ready to come back to Arizona and 60+ degree weather.

I am also looking forward to being with my family! I haven't seen them since my sisters baby shower in April - and that was only for a weekend! So to be together for longer will be nice! I am also excited to meet my nephew! My sister Heather gave birth in May and that was around the time my husband was getting out of the Army, so I wasn't able to make it out there to meet Gavin. Also, my besties hubby grew up an hour away from me, so she's going to come down and see me for a day. I have missed her!

There is so much to look forward to, and just one thing that I know will drive me crazy - people asking me when my husband and I are going to have a baby. That question happens every time we go to either one of our families homes. I find the question rude and really none of anyones business. We're still in our twenties, for crying out loud. But I will do what I always do, just smile and pretend that it doesn't bother me :]

Copy Cat.

I got this from Sarah, whose blog I love and I decided to be a copy cat :] This was actually kind of fun....and if you're just coming across my blog, my husband is Jenry prounounced Henry. The J in Spanish sounds like an H.

♥ What are your middle names?
Elizabeth & Jose.

♥ How long have you been together?
6 & 1/2 years.

♥ How did you meet?
I had gotten deployed to Iraq and he was already there with the rest of my unit. He was our units generator mechanic. We became really good friends and then it turned into more.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Three months.

♥ Who asked who out?
We both liked each other so we just decided one day to be boyfriend & girlfriend (hey, we were 19& 20 years old, haha).

♥ How old are each of you?
Jenry is 25, I am 25.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Nope.

♥ What about pets?
Three cats, which he claims none of. He is not a cat person, but he's starting to come around.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
No.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No. I am from St. Joseph, Michigan and he was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York City when he was seven.

♥ Who is the smartest?
Schoolwise- me. Useless facts - him.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
We both are, but I probably am moreso than him.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We don't eat out a lot, but we really enjoy an authentic Mexican restaurant here called La Casita.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Aside from Iraq to America, when we drove from Michigan to Arizona.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
I'd say I have the worst temper of the two of us.

♥ Who does the cooking?
I do almost all the cooking, but he will occasionally make things.

♥ Who is more social?
We are both homebodies, but he is really quiet until you get to know him, I can make friends with almost anyone.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me, me, me! I am obsessive about cleaning and I enjoy cleaning. Jenry doesn't really care, although he likes DVD's, CD's, and books to be alphabetized.

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
Ohh, that's a toughie, but I'd say him.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither one of us, we usually fall asleep cuddling and stay pretty close the whole night, he does steal covers every now and then.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
We wake up at the same time on the weekdays, but weekends I am usually up between 7:30- 9:00 and he sleeps in till 10:00 or 11:00.

♥ Where was your first date?
We were in Iraq, it was not a standard dating situation, haha.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
We have the same size immediate family, but my extended family is bigger.

♥ Favorite memories?
Going to New Yok City for the first time and crossing the George Washington Bridge and when he took me to the Bronx Zoo. Also when he came home from Iraq, it was always exciting.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes, and while I appreciate them, I tell him he doesn't have to spend $80 to have flowers delivered, just buy some at the store, haha.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
We alternate Christmas and we used to go to my home for Thanksgiving since it was closer, but now we stay out here fpr Thanksgiving.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Him! Especially when he was in Iraq.

♥ Who eats more?
Him, even though you'd never tell by looking at him.

♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
Me. I could never trust him to separate the colors, haha.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Him with technical stuff, me with html type stuff.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Me. Always.

♥ Who plays an instrument?
We both played the drums in 5th grade :]

♥ Do you share the same taste in music?
I like all his music, he doesn't like all mine, especially country.

♥ Who exercises more?
Neither one of us. Was him, but not since he got out of the Army.

♥ Who eats better?
Me, because I have to watch what I eat. He could eat anything and stay the same.

♥ Who's more romantic?
I'd say we're even steven.

♥ Who wears the pants in the relationship?
I think most women do :]

♥ Who snores loudest?
I don't snore, Jenry does if he's sick.

♥ Is there anything you both share/enjoy?
Lots of things, we have a lot in common.

♥ Who takes more pictures?
I guess I do.

♥ Who cries the most?
Me. PMS gets to me ;]

Holiday Weight.

In 2006, I lost 30 pounds, but gained back 20 of them. In 2007, I was determined to lose those 20 pounds, and then some - and I did, about 75 pounds. After that weight loss, I gained about 5 pounds back and I try to stay around that weight. I used to be a compulsive weigh-er, stepping on my scale every morning. It was torture, since my digital scale shows ounces as well as pounds and weight fluctuates. Anyway, I didn't have my scale from June until we got our stuff 2 weeks ago - and I hadn't stepped on my scale. Not that I was scared to, but I'd gone 5 months without it and judging my weight strictly on how I felt. Meaning when I ate bad, I felt heavier and when I ate good, I felt better. I do a loose version of Weight Watchers - the program I used to lose all the weight. Basically I'll go a week of splurging a few times, and then 2 weeks strictly on Weight Watchers. I am trying to maintain, not lose anymore weight (as of right now).

But today I decided to weigh myself. I heard on the radio this morning that people tend to weigh themselves less during the holidays, for fear of what the scale might say, I guess. So I decided to not be afraid of the scale (even though Thanksgiving was just a few days ago). So I pulled out the scale and weighed myself. I gained 1 pound since the last time I weighed myself, which had to have been in May or June. But I was really proud of myself. I used to rely on that thing to validate my good feelings about myself - but now I know I don't need a scale to tell me how I'm doing. I can do it on my own! As a former fat girl, keeping the weight off for more than a year, this is a huge accomplishment.

I plan to not weigh myself for a while, because I don't need to. Not anymore.

It's the Simple Things

I had the best weekend - and we didn't do much of anything at all! On Thursday, the hubby and I went over to Tyler & Alexis' house for dinner, and Tyler's mother came into town from San Diego to join us. We had a traditional dinner and of course desert. Then us girls watched The Taking of Pelham 123 while the boys headed to the theater to see Ninja Assassin. I was very happy that they went together so that I wouldn't have to go see it later, haha. Not my kind of movie. Afterwards, we came home and had a low key weekend. I watched hockey on both Friday and Saturday (and the hubby even watched with me on Saturday). The hubby also made us ommlettes on Saturday for breakfast. He can't very many things, but ommlettes he does amazingly at!

On Saturday night, after the hockey game, the hubby made the mistake of turning on GSN - The Game Show Network. I wasn't aware we had this channel and I happen to love it! So last night we watched a few shows on there and for some reason, it was really enjoyable.

He kept asking me what I wanted to do all weekend, and I would tell him I truly just wanted to be at home with him. I definitely did not want to face the Black Friday crowds and I'm perfectly content to sit at home, next to him. So even though we didn't do much of anything, I had a fanatastic weekend.

Hope everyone else had a great one too!

I'm Thankful.

This year I have a lot to be thankful for.
My Husband

My husband is probably one of the greatest people I've ever met in my life. He is incredibly giving and kind, not only to me, but to everyone. I'm thankful for all the hard work he does to provide for us, which allows me to go to school. I'm thankful for his eight years of sacrifice in the military, to include three deployments, to ensure the safety of Americans. Most of all, I'm thankful for his love and companionship. He is truly my best friend, lover, and life partner.

My Family

My dad, my two sisters, my step mothers, and my three nephews are an amazing part of my life. My sisters are truly my best friends and my father is one of my heroes. My step-mother and I had a difficult relationship when her and my father married when I was 12, but we have come a long way and I love her. My family is very close, my husband often tells me he wishes his family were as close as mine is. I wish we all lived closer, but it is not a possibility and we make the best of it.



My Best Friends



I really don't know how I would survive without these three ladies in my life. Rachelle (bottom picture) and I met when I was 18 and she was 19. I had just arrived to my unit at Fort Bragg, NC and didn't know anyone. Rachelle showed up at my door one day and invited me to hang out. We were inseparable after that. We went to Iraq together and she is one of the reasons I made it through. Ashley and I (left picture) met when I was 21 and she was 19 - through MySpace of all places. I had been living in TN for almost a year and my husband had been in Iraq for the majority of it. I felt very alone and had few friends, but Ashley and I had a great connection and a lot in common and we became besties very quickly. We endured two deployments (as wives) together and spent many a nights together, laughing, crying, and supporting one another. The friendship between Kelsey and I (right picture) was completely unexpected. We met in January 2006 in a biology class. We sat at the same lab table and when I made a stupid error with a gradulated cylinder, she made fun of me - not even knowing me. After a few more labs together, we were school friends, until she invited me to a hockey game. I had never been a hockey fan, but that first game, I fell in love with it, and so our bond grew the more classes we took together and the more hockey games we attended. All three of thesee ladies hold a special place in my heart and I love them dearly.

There are many more things I am thankful for - comfy P.J.'s, reality t.v., video games, my cats, and the list could go on. But I believe there is nothing more important in this life than family, friends, and love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Miss Her.

I always miss my mom around this time of year. Not only is it the 'holiday season', but December marks 16 years since she died. Today as my husband and I were driving, we were listening to Dr. Laura (as usual) and a woman with terminal cancer called in asking advice for how to tell her children she was dying. My husband looked at me and asked if I was alright since woman's story hit pretty close to home. I told him yes, and then he asked me to never die, because he doesn't know what he would do without me. I then told him that I often wonder how that must've felt for my dad - his wife of 16 years, dying and leaving him and three daughters behind. How does one live knowing their spouse will die? This of course made me cry out of sadness for my dad and out of admiration for his strength during it all.

I often tell my husband about my mother, the things I can remember in my nine years of knowing her. Mostly I tell him of her laugh, how contagious it was. How down to earth she was and that she would've liked him a lot. It makes me sad that he never got to meet her, that my future children will never know her, that she had to die so young, that my grandparents had to bury their daughter, and that I never got to know her as more than just 'mommy'. Sometimes I struggle to remember things about her, it seems so long ago and like yesterday at the same time.

As I was crying telling my husband things about my mother that he has heard before, but I tell him again because it's all I remember, he told me he doesn't like to see me upset. I told him some were tears of sadness, but others were tears of happiness remembering the greatest woman I have ever known. My mother was not perfect, but to a nine year old, your parents can do no wrong. My mother died being my world & perfect in my young eyes.

I miss you, Mom.

Oh Yeah, I Live Here Now.

My husband and I only have one vehicle, which is my car I bought before we got married after I totaled my other car. Anyway, it doesn't really bother me that we only have one vehicle, as my husband HATES driving! You may find it odd - I did for a long time, but the fact of the matter is he's never really drove (with the exception of military vehicles) since he grew up in NYC where people prefer the subway to cars. He actually didn't even get his license until he was 21! He did have his own car, but we ended up selling it because it had so many problems. So anyway, I take my husband to work every morning & pick him up in the afternoon. The other day I was pulled out of my driveway to pick him up from work and started heading down to the stop sign on the corner of our street. A woman in a mini-van across the street & a few houses down [i.e. kiddy-corner] decides to start pulling out of her driveway and into the street as I'm driving past her house. I literally had to drive on the other side of the street because I thought she was going to hit me - she didn't even stop at all. So me being me, I flash her a dirty smirk and carried on my way.

As I thought about this later in the day it crossed my mind that I live here now, as in for an extended period of time. As in I may see this woman many times over the next few years and perhaps I shouldn't be giving her dirty looks, no matter how right I think I am and how wrong I think she is. So I am going to attempt to not be such a snot to people who don't know me, I don't want to be known in the neighborhood as that bitchy lady :]

Update on Life

It has been so long since I blogged, but I have been so incredibly busy! The biggest piece of news is that my husband and are officially homeowners! We closed on the scheduled date of Wednesday October 14. I had actually called our realtor earlier in the day to see if he had heard anything about us closing, and he hadn't, so I thought it would happen on the following day, but he called me a few hours later and told us to come get our keys because we had the house! I hadn't posted the pictures of the house because I didn't want to jinx it in some way, but for those who are interested, you can view the pictures here. So after we got the keys, we started transferring our stuff from our roommates aparment into the house. And then I had to drive a little over an hour to the airport in Tucson to pick up my friend Kelsey - so needless to say, I was very busy that day!

So the next day, Kelsey and I drove up to Glendale, which is a suburb of Phoenix, the go to a hockey game. Granted it wasn't my Predators playing, but I didn't care because I just wanted to see hockey, any hockey would do! So we watch the Phoenix Coyotes take on the St. Louis Blues (Kelsey's 2nd fave team). The Coyotes won in overtime, but it was still a good game, and great to see our former goalie Mason again - I heart him! It was also weird to see our former player Fiddler do well, haha. We drove back to Sierra Vista that night and were so tired we just went straight to bed. The rest of her time here, we hung out, ran errands, and finally felt connected to the world again when I got my internet hooked up, haha. Kelsey left on Monday and I was sad to see her go - it was nice to have one of my best friends out here, even if all we did was hang out not doing a whole lot.

So we thought the Army was going to ship our stuff out here free of charge, well we were wrong. They wanted to charge nearly $3000 to do it, and I really didn't want to drain my savings to do so. So the hubby and I are flying out to TN on November 11, loading our stuff into a truck on the 12th, and driving right back out here. Yeah it's going to be a lot of work, but the Army will pay us $7500 to do it, and I think we'll only be spending about $2000 to do it ourselves. As of right now, we have two new couches we bought and a new bedroom set, but other than that's it's pretty empty. Oh well, soon enough we'll have our stuff, not looking forward to driving that truck though, haha.

So that's my update. I feel like I wrote a lot, so I try to update more often so I don't have to write as much, haha.

Annoyed.

When I woke up this morning, I looked at my phone and realized I had a missed call from my realtor and our mortgage broker. I immediately took this as a good sign, but I was wrong. I called our realtor first and he told me he had good news and bad news - which to me is always just bad news. He said that he wasn't sure if we'd be able to close by Wednesday because the mortgage underwriter was taking a long time. Something that should've only taken a week has taken two. So that was the bad news, the good news was that if they don't make the deadline, then they pay us $1300. Believe me, $1300 would be nice, that's essentially the rest of our closing costs, but I could care less because I just want to be in my home! Plus, my friend Kelsey is flying into town on Wednesday and I don't want her to have to stay in a hotel. So after I talked to the realtor, I call the mortgage broker back. He told me to go ahead and set up our homeowners insurance. I guess to make it go faster in case the loan does indeed come through this week. I was really hoping to close by the end of this week so we could go furniture shopping this weekend up in Tucson, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Aside from that, my husband called the movers yesterday and they referred us to the Fort Campbell Transportation office. Who told us it would probably be 3-4 weeks until we got our stuff. Mostly because it takes 10 days to process the paperwork. Annoying to say the least.

So that's all that's new with me. Hope to have a better update next week!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Cancer in general is a very important cause I support since so many people in my life have suffered or died from it. My Uncle Mark died when I was 8 from lung cancer, my Grandma in 2007 from cervical cancer, and my friend Sarah had lymphoma. But I hold the breast cancer cause especially close to my heart. My Aunt MaryAnn beat the disease about 10 years ago, while my mother died from it in 1993 when I was nine.

I encourage every woman to do a self breast exam every month and when the time is right, get yearly mammograms. And if your doctor tries to talk you out of it, find a doctor who will do it! My mom requested a mammogram when she was 26, only to be told she was 'too young' to get cancer. 13 years later she found the lump and had cancer. Granted that doctor got sued for malpractice - it didn't make up for the cancer that had already come. I will be getting my first mammogram when I am 29 - 10 years before my mother was diagnosed.

I know everyone reading this has been affected by breast cancer or just cancer in general. Don't let it be YOU.

Almost There.

When the husband and I first talk to our mortgage broker, he told us that we would need pay stubs from one months worth of pay, and we were told that my husband started during the beginning of a new pay period. Well, he got paid two weeks later, but it was only for one weeks worth of work, basically meaning that they're one week ahead with pay (if that makes sense). So we initially thought he'd have one months pay on Sept 18, but in fact he only had three weeks of pay. Our mortgage broker decided to try to submit the loan paperwork anyway and see if the lender would notice. That was last Wednesday. I called up there today to see if he had heard anything and he said he was just waiting on one last piece of paperwork - the approval of the mortgage underwriter - aka the last step in the loan process. I talked to our realtor too, and he think we should be in the home by next week! We scheduled our final walkthrough for Monday, to make sure everything we requested to be fixed was done accordingly.

I am really excited! I think I am going to call the movers from the Army tomorrow to schedule our stuff to be delivered next Friday (can always be changed if need be). The only other thing in our way is the cost this may entail. When one gets out of the Army, they will only move your belongings as far as your 'home of record' or where you entered in the service at. NYC was 900 miles from where we lived in TN, however AZ is 1500 miles, so we may have to pay whatever their price is for 600 miles. We do know one girl who said she never had to pay for her extra mileage, but we're not sure if we'll be as lucky.

Anyway, that's the latest news. I can't wait to get into the house & decorate and just make it my own. I will post pictures soon!

My Secret Identity as a Video Game Nerd

When I met my husband in Iraq 6&1/2 years ago, I was not someone who played video games at all. Growing up, my sister and I had a Nintendo and years later a PlayStation. I also had a GameBoy when they first came out - yes, the big brick one! Most of these systems I hardly played myself, usually my dad or my sister played on them while I would prefer to read a book or watch TV. My husband on the other hand, grew up playing video games. He had more systems than I care to name. He and his siblings and friends would spend hours playing video games, and the amount of time played didn't change as he grew older. After we met, he tried to get me to play games with him, and sometimes I would, but I would never call myself a gamer.

After we got married in 2004 and we moved from North Carolina to Arizona, I was feeling very lonely since I was so far away from my family and had no friends. One of the hubby's friends kept talking about how Halo 2 was coming out. I had played the first Halo once at a friends house and actually liked it a lot. My husband asked me if I was going to get Halo 2, but I of course said no, I didn't play video games afterall. The day the game was released, I had this sudden urge to go buy it - and I did. I became so hooked on this game, it's not even funny. I would play it for hours when my husband was at work. This was around the time when XBox Live first came out, and I found myself making friends with these people on a game. They gave me companionship when I felt so alone and without friends.

A few months later, my husbands coworker introduced him to a new game - only this one wasn't a console game, it was a MMO (mass multiplayer online) game for the PC called World of Warcraft, or WoW for short. My husband was often play this game while I would play Halo 2 -talk about a couple of nerds! He tried relentlessly to get me to play this game too, but I had no desire. I thought it looked confusing with a million buttons. But one day he convinced me to sit down and watch him play. That lead to me making my own character and learning how to play. Again, I was hooked. When my husband deployed a few months later, WoW, school, and XBox Live kept me occupied, since we had again moved and I had no friends.

It's so funny to me that I play video games, especially since I used to hate them. In fact, it's killing me that we don't have our XBox right now and Halo 3: ODST comes out soon. I hate that I don't have my desktop and I have to play WoW on this not-made-for-games laptop. So yes, it's true. I am a girl gamer - and I never thought I would be.

Where Have I Been?

Well, nowhere really, but I did take a slight blogging hiatus. Things have calmed down since my last post, thank God. And we did end up finding a house we both really like! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2.5 car garage, carpet & tile, and a huge backyard. I think my favorite features are the granite counter tops in the kitchen and that the master bath has a jetted tub and a separate standing shower. Anyways, on day two of our home search, we put in an offer on this home, which of course was counter offered, to which we accepted. We did a 60 day contract which puts us in the house by Oct 14th. We've done pretty much everything required - inspection (which the owners agreed to fix everything), termite inspection (came back good), and appraisal (still waiting for the report from the appraiser). We got pre-approved for our loan with an awesome interest rate (5.375%) and now we're just waiting for my husband to get a months worth of pay to finish the loan process, and then we'll be in the home! We thought we might be able to be in there by the end of the month, but when my husband started his job, it was in the middle of a pay period, not the beginning of one like we thought. So he'll get paid on the 18th and again on October 2nd, and then it's just a week or so after that (I hope).

It's really exciting and even though time is going faster since my husband started his job, it still feels like forever until we'll be in there. I never in a million years thought I'd be getting a home like this for my first one, but here we are. I think I am really excited that it's also move-in ready. I might paint one room, but other than that, nothing needs to be done. It's going to be weird being a homeowner, but also really amazing, I think.

Only sucky part - my bff Kelsey is coming out on the 14th and we might not have our personal belongings from the Army yet. So if it's really boring, I apologize in advance. Bring your new MacBook since we'll at least have internet, haha.

Anyway, sorry for not blogging for so long. I will try to be better. I'm actually going to head to bed here now, so I will catch up on everyones blogs in the morning.

When Your Back is Turned.

If you didn't know, my husband and I are currently living with one of his good friends and his wife. They offered to let us stay here rent free until the hubby got a job. Now, we're not moochers, we pay for 1/2 the food and all that. We offered to give them money for rent, but they said no. Last week, they got their electric bill (the 2nd one since we've been here) and it was like $250 or something. Apparently they weren't expecting that much of an increase. I offered right then and there to give them money for the bill, but they again said no, so I didn't think anything of it. My husband happens to be really good friends with Alexis' sisters husband and he called last night to talk to the hubby. Apparently, she was bitching to her sister about how the increase in the electric bill was our fault, since we stay up later than them and use the light and have the TV on. My husband didn't tell me about this conversation because he knew I'd be fuming. Well, when he told me about it this morning, I almost lost it. I sort of had a feeling they wanted us to pay for some of it when Tyler came home this afternoon saying he was going to get a second job to pay for the electric bill. I thought he was kidding, but apparently not. It just really irritated me that she went behind my back to talk about it, and then blamed it all on us. First of all, my husband worked on generators in the Army and knows quite a bit about electricity and the way it works. There is no way that 1 light and a TV could cause such an increase. The likely culprit? The fact that they leave their a/c on 70 all day and night when it's 100+ degrees out. I mean common sense tells me, if it's getting hotter and your keeping your a/c on the same temperature, it's going to take more energy to keep the house cool. Right? So I went to the bank, took out $100, and gave it to them. Whatever, how hard is it to ask? I would've had no problem, but when you talk shit behind my back, I don't appreciate it.

Another reason why this irks me? Tyler lived with us for a year and he paid $200 a month and helped with groceries. When he proposed, he bought a huge ring and then told me he couldn't pay the $200, and would have to go down to $100. He told us when we moved in here that we could stay for free because he owed us from that. I also buy random things for them. I bought that stupid baby test -- $40, and other random things, like the $75 dinner we paid for when the hubby got his job.

My bff Kelsey is coming to stay with us in October and we plan to be out of their apartment by then. Well, it was also said she thought it was rude I invited my friend out here when we might not have a house by then. I guess she thought my friend would end up staying here with them and us. Uh, I don't think so. If we can't buy a house soon, then we'll rent. And if it came down to it, I'd put Kelsey up in a hotel and I'd stay there with her. I would never just invite someone into their house. Seriously! So what did we do today? We went to the a realtor office to get the ball rolling. He told us that they usually like to have 2 or 3 pay stubs before they do all the loan stuff, but he was a realtor and not a mortgage broker. So he made us an appointment for tomorrow morning at 10am to talk with one. If anything, we can atleast get the ball rolling on our VA loan. And perhaps his offer letter with his salary can help us.

Sorry for such a long blog, but I was so furious today and found it hard to bite my tongue and not say anything. Living here was going well, but now I feel hurt and anger toward someone who I thought was so nice. So now I'm just going to be cordial and try to get the hell out of here.

Shut Your Hole.

So my fellow Michigander named Sarah over at That's What She Said wrote a blog last week with a bunch of funny pictures, which she created at FaceInHole.com. I decided to check out the website today and make some creations of my own. Here's a few:

Me as Megan Fox

Me & Brad

Who knew I was so fit?

Mine really don't compare to Sarah's -- she did a lot more and they look so good. It's a fun site to mess around at, although you might have to look through quite a few of the pictures before you settle on on. And there is no need to worry about the skin tone/color differences of your photo and the 'hole' photo, as you can change the contrast/hue/brightness etc after you upload your picture. Now that I conqoured this, next I have to try that Yearbook Yourself thing. Perhaps in a later blog I will.

Intelligender.

So today Alexis (my roommate & friend, who's 16 weeks pregnant) were sitting around when she got a call from her sister telling her she needed to go to Walgreen's and buy the Intelligender Baby Gender Predictor Kit. Emily (her sister) had seen it used on the show Kendra! the night before and said it was only $35. We had seen a similar product before, but it was $100 or something. We immediately went to Walgreen's only to find they were out and wouldn't be getting a shipment until Wednesday. They did however have paternity test home kits, which I found comical :] Since we had no luck at Walgreen's, we decided to try KMart since it was right across the street, but again no luck. After that, we decided to give up and just wait till Wednesday. Alexis called Emily to let her know, and Emily asked if we had a CVS. I had completely forgot about the CVS in town, so we hopped right back in the car and went to CVS, where we finally came across some luck and bought the kit. On a side note, CVS has keycard thing for discounts, which I didn't know, and so I got one of those too.

The kit itself looked complicated. You pee in the cup provided, extract 20ml with the syringe provided, then pour it into a cup with crystals, swirl it around for 10 seconds, and then wait to find out the sex. Murky green for boy, pee yellow for girl. Alexis' showed boy, but then again it is only 90% accurate. So even if it's wrong, it was a fun thing to do.

I'm not pregnant, but the hubby and I have decided that when we do concieve, we're not going to find out the gender. I really want my first one to be a surprise. I know it will be hard and I will be so anxious, I think it will make it really exciting.

Quick Update.

Last week after my husband had his phone interview, they told us we should know more in the following two weeks. I felt that meant his chances were pretty low and I knew it was going to be hard to wait that long to hear something. Lucky for us though, because they called three days later and offered the hubby a job! We were beyond ecstatic and totally relieved. He starts on August 24th and in the past week had a drug test and physical. The time is going slowly now, because we have so much to look forward too. I am excited for him to start his job, and probably even more excited to start house hunting. Also, my bff Kelsey is planning on visiting in October. We had plans on hold until the hubby for sure had a job, but now he does, so it's looking more likely that she'll make an appearance. Anyway, that's my small update for now, hope to write more later this week.

I Need a Vacation.

With my husband currently out of work, a vacation is not in the cards right now, but possibly within the next year. There are a few places now that I'm out West that I'd love to visit, but I'll save that for another day. Anyway, this thinking about vacation made me remember a vacation my family took when I was about six years old, possibly my favorite vacation ever.

For Spring Break that year, my family embarked on our first 'real' family vacation and we were going where every child dreams about going to: Disney World. However, that's not totally why this vacation sticks out in my mind, more so because this is one of the last times I remember my mom not being too sick with cancer. Granted she had been diagnosed, but she had finished her first round of chemo/radiation and her hair had started to grow back. She was my mom again.

Since my family didn't have a ton of money, we made the trek via car from Michigan to Florida. My sister and I kept ourselves occupied, even though back then DvD players, much less portable ones, did not exist. All I needed was a My Little Pony toy and I was set. After a few days in the car, we arrived in Orlando and made it to our condo - another big deal for us. It wasn't a hotel, but a 2 bedroom condo, complete with a kitchen, washer/dryer, pool, etc. I thought we were living large! Every day we went to the park, hitting up the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Typhoon Lagoon. We visited my mothers close friends who had moved to Florida to retire. We watched people bungee jump. We were carefree. My mom was happy.

It's funny how something so simple as a family vacation can turn into one of my most precious memories. I don't cherish this vacation because it was a childhood dream come true, but because my mom got to experience with me. She was able to see her children have fun and be kids without a worry for once. That's the mom I keep with me.

Time to Make a Change

Only to my blog name :] My former blog name -Random Thoughts - was, well boring. I'm not creative in the least, but I kind of like the new name - not sure if it will stick, but it works for now. be sure to edit your gadgets if you follow me so it updates the new name.

Anyways, that's all the blogging I'm doing for tonight.

Adios!

Fingers Crossed

My fingers have been crossed since Friday when my husband had a job interview with AAI Corporation, which is a UAV company which the Army has contracts with. The interview seemed to go great, and it really sounded like the hubby pretty much had the job. He was supposed to have another interview over the phone today with the human resources division of the company (based in Maryland) at 10am, but they never called, which pissed me off to be honest. I'm hoping it was just some clerical error and we'll hear something soon. The hubby is supposed to call the guy who interviewed him on Thursday if he hasn't called him by then.

I really hope this works out. I have been looking at houses out here, and while they're not my dream homes, I have found quite a few that I really like. If the hubby does indeed get this job, he'll be making almost double what he did while enlisted, so we can do things we've been wanting, for starters a house, secondly: getting the hubby the dog he's always wanted (we've decided on a german shepherd).

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself, but being true to my zodiac, I'm a dreamer, a hoper, a wisher, a seer of good things. My hubby tends to be pessimistic, which maybe a better way to look at things, but for right now, my hopes are high.

Sleepy Head!

Since we made our move out west, I have been going to sleep fairly early (for me), usually being in bed by 12 or 1am (like I said, early for me) while my husband stays up until 3 or 4am. But tonight my husband went to bed at 9pm. If you know me or my husband, which I assume you do if you're reading this, then you know that bedtime is almost unheard of for him. What on earth could possibly make a night owl so tired? Spelunking. No, I didn't just make up some random word, my husband embarked on an adventure today called spelunking. Why it can't be called cave exploring, I haven't the slightest, perhaps because it just sounds cooler. But he didn't just walk through a cave, he climbed the inside of a completely pitch black cave with a headlamp on his forehead. Judging by the cuts and scratches on his arms and hands, spelunking doesn't appear to be for the average person. He asked me if I would like to go sometime. Aside from the obvious danger, I am pretty claustrophobic and really want no part in this activity. And even though it's not for me, I'm glad he got to go -- he's wanted to for a while. Now if I could just talk him out of urban spelunking.

Before I head to bed, here's a small update on life. The hubby had an interview on Friday and we're waiting to hear back from the company. He was also contacted by a UAV company for a job in Maryland. We're really hoping the Phoenix job works out, hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. Even if he doesn't get it, I am so proud of him for doing well on the interview because he is pretty shy and he was very nervous! Fingers crossed!

Definitely, Maybe.

The hubby and I have been in Arizona now for a little over a month, and while we're enjoying staying with friends, we're getting a little anxious to find a place of our own, mainly for the sake of of poor cat Mitters who is terrified of their dog. Every morning, my husband wakes up, searches for jobs, applies for jobs, and waits to hear back from people. Right now, we have a few options. The first one is a generator job in Phoenix. The hubby has been in contact with someone up there for a while, but the person who does the interviewing has been on vacation, but he was asked if he could make it up there for an interview next week, so we should know more then.

The other option is a little more radical: Border Patrol. Today they opened up applications for the Northern border, which really wasn't where he (nor I) wanted him to do BP, but he went ahead and applied and has a test date for August 24th in Idaho. Yes, 1200 miles was the closest testing station for the northern BP. We're hoping the Phoenix job, or a different one opens up for him and we don't have to make our way that far just to test. Another downer -- the training schedule. It would require 5 months basic training in New Mexico, 15 months on the job training in the southern border, and then finally going to your job on the northern border, which we requested Eastern New York/Vermont.

In all honesty, I hope the Phoenix job works out. It's very affordable to live there, and the job pays well. And there is a hockey team near by, which isn't a necesity, but a definite plus.

I would like to apologize for my extended absence from blogging. My computer was sent in to be repaired three weeks ago and I usually get on my hubbys' computer every morning for a bit, but haven't even logged in here for a week or so. Anyway, that's all the updates I have for now. Hopefully I'll have good news soon!

Welcome to the Grand Canyon State!

A week and a half ago, the Hubby, our three cats, and myself made the 1500 mile trip from Tennessee to Arizona. After our walk through with the apartment manager, we dropped off our cable box and got on the road at 11am. The first day was fairly uneventful as we traveled through Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas. We stopped for the night in Dallas, TX. After I hit up WalMart for some cat food and stopped by Wendy's to grab some dinner, we watched some TV and went to bed. We woke up the next morning at 8am and loaded up the kitties and our bags again to continue our travels further west. I had never traveled directly from Tennessee to Arizona, so I took and unfamiliar route which put us in Texas for the majority of the trip, which wasn't so bad since the speed limit was 80 mph in some parts. After some rush hour traffic in El Paso, we were finally in the worst state in America: New Mexico.

I hate New Mexico so much and have never had good luck in this state, so why should I expect it to be any different this time? I had about a half tank of gas when we entered NM, so I thought there would surely be a gas station along the way. I saw a sign for a town and decided to look for gas with my GPS, but it said there were none close by. So I thought we'd just continue and find one...well, that never happened, so I had to turn around with intentions to head to a gas station 40 miles away. While heading to that gas station, we ended up in that small town where there were supposedly no gas stations, only to find a gas station there. I was annoyed, but glad that we didn't go too far out of out way. After we filled up, we continued in New Mexico, which was right on the border with Mexico, we actually had no American phone service and the Hubby recieved a text from AT&T offering him a deal for international service, haha. I was really glad we did go back for gas because there wasn't another gas station for probably another 150 miles and we would've been screwed with no service. We did get to see some illegals being busted by Border Patrol though, so tha was interesting.

The cats faired alright -- Mitters barfed like he always does (car sickness, I guess), George had one accident on day 2 (we were driving for 14 hours, so I wasn't mad), and Lola was a little angel :] We arrived at our friends house at 10pm AZ time and took showers and went to bed, we were so exhausted!

Since we've been here, the Hubby has continued to look for jobs, submitted a few resumes, and is hopefully going up to a UAV company this week to talk to someone. Our roomates have been great, only asking us to pay for food. They have a bulldog, and while it was rough at first, the cats have gotten more comfortable around him. I hope the Hubby can find a job soon and we can get a place of our own, but for now, this works. I of course miss my friends, AZ just seems so far away from everything and everyone I love. Hopefully when we have our own place, then I can have some visitors :]

Sorry this was so long, I will try to keep everyone updated if anything blog worthy happens, but as of right now, life is fairly uneventful!

Ch-ch-changes!

I don't update this thing because I find it more entertaining to read what others have wrote than post about my pretty boring life. Since I last posted, a few things have happened, most importantly, my husband got his citizenship and my sister had her baby. Both were pretty great days in the month of May. I also went to Atlanta with some girlfriends and got to witness 'ethnic trash' at its finest while at Six Flags. The biggest thing happening now is my husbands departure from the Army next week and our big move. The packers are coming on Thursday, picking up everything on Friday, and after I spend the weekend cleaning (which I am totally looking forward to), we'll do a walk-through on Monday and we'll be out of here. Last night, the husband and I decided officially that we'd go to AZ to stay with our former roommate and his newly pregnant wife. We're hoping that he'll be able to find a job quickly, that doesn't involve him going to Iraq. We talked last night and decided that overseas contract work was really something that we just don't want to do, it would be too hard. So now he's hoping a UAV position opens up, and if not, Border Patrol is something else he's looking at. It's really scary, but what can you do? I'm very grateful to have friends to take us in (we actually had multiple offers, haha), and we'll make the best of it while we have to.

That's it for now! I'll try to update more, I promise.

Getting Out.

Yesterday, my husband didn't have to work and I only had one class, so we decided to take advantage of the military walk-in policy at the Nashville USCIS instead of waiting for his actual appointment on the 30th. We got there without getting lost, thanks to my Garmin. I love that thing, let me tell you, but that's for another blog, another day. So anyway, he got his fingerprints or biometrics as the government likes to call it, and now we're just waiting for him to have his interview date, and hopefully he'll be a citizen in no time!

After that was done, we decided to hit up Opry Mills since my hubby has never been there. Aside from going to and from the airport, in the 3 1/2 years we've lived here, he's never been to Nashville. Granted 2 years of his time here has actually been spent in Iraq, he still hadn't been. We didn't buy much, just a few books, some video games, and I bought a dress from American Eagle. Don't ask me how I managed to fit into a small, but I did. It's actually very cute & comfy and I think I'm going to wear it on Monday. We actually needed to buy new sneakers for the hubby, since he burnt his in a campfire during a fishing trip, but we weren't able to find anything he liked.

After three hours of walking around Opry Mills, we were pretty hungry. The hubs really wanted to try 'The Aquarium', and after browsing the menu, I thought it sounded good. I should've been prepared for the overpricing of the menu, but I wasn't and was shocked to see the most everything on the menu was $18+. After my shrimp scampi, his salmon, and 2 salads & soft drinks, our total was $68 (with tip). It's okay though, because it really was his first time to Nashville, so he's allowed to act a little like a tourist :] After dinner, we made our way home and of course the hubs fell asleep on the drive home (he does this frequently, haha). We both crashed pretty early that night, around midnight, which is our weeknight bedtime, not our weekend one.

I just had a wonderful day with my husband, outside our home, and I loved every minute of it!

I Wish I looked Like...

This is another blog prompted by The Imagination Prompt Generator.

There is really no perfect person who I'd like to look like, but there are people who I'd take bits and pieces from to form the perfect person.

Hair
I would love to have long, thick hair like Kim Kardashian. Granted, I have the long part down, but my hair is not nearly as
pretty or well taken care of,
like Kim's.

Face
I love pretty much everything about Megan Fox's face. She has gorgeous eyes, perfect teeth, and nice facial structure.

Body
By far, Shakira has one of the best bodies. She's not to skinnyand not too big. Most importantly, she has a nice butt which is probably the only thing sexy about my own body.

The reality is, I'll never look like any of these women. I wish I were happier with myself, but I'm not. I still have a lot to work on with my physical self, and my own perception of myself. I hate to be the girl who complains about how she looks or how much weight she's gained, but I am that girl. Sometimes I look in the mirror and still see that size 20, 220 pound girl looking back at me. 75 pounds and 6 sizes smaller, I still struggle with my looks and my 'new' body. I wish I could see myself as my husband sees me.

This is a test. I am blogging from my BlackBerry just to see if it works. I see this turning into a bad thing, haha.

There Goes That.

On Friday, the Predators regular season ended and I'm sad to say, there will be no playoffs this year. I wanted them to make the playoffs more for myself than for anyone else, as I am moving this summer and won't be able to attend games anymore, so I wanted them to make the playoffs just so I could attend a few more games. Oh well, we gave it a good go and I have no regrets about this season.

I spent this past weekend in Michigan. My sister, my step-mom, and I threw a baby shower for my other sister who is about 8 months pregnant with a boy. I had a really good time hanging out with my family, especially my sister who I hadn't seen for almost a year.

My husband submitted his application for naturalization a few weeks back and we received a letter stating they have his paperwork and that they'll contact us within 365 days to set up his interview. Yeah, you read right -- there's possibility we may not hear anything for a year. I checked the Memphis ISCIS website, and they are currently processing applications submitted in June 2008. So yeah, who knows. He has joined a few job search websites and made profiles on them, and we're basically waiting to hear anything. Our last resort is for him to apply for a DoD job. I really don't like our last resort, but I guess that's what most last resorts are like.

As for me, I am still going to school and attempting to keep my sanity in this rather scary and nerve wracking time. I'll keep you updated.

Cool People Get Awards.

I've been awarded with three more awards from Bestie. I'm not sure I'm deserving, but she likes me, so she give them to me anyway. Thanks friend! So here are my new awards!

Award 1:

Kreativ Blogger
1. List seven things I love.
2. Present this award to seven other bloggers.

ONE
My husband and my family. I think most would understand why, these people are the most important in my life.

TWO
My best friends. They know who they are and I am so grateful to have them in my life, whether they're near or far.

THREE
Sports. I am an avid hockey, baseball, and football fan. Some may find it silly, but they really play a big part in my life.

FOUR
Cheese. I freakin' love cheese, all forms and flavors. If you don't like cheese, you suck.

FIVE
Video games. I love playing with my husband or myself. It helps to keep my mind off things when I am stressed or hurting.

SIX
Animals. I love all animals and believe in their rights. I think animal abusers should have harsher punishments.

SEVEN
America. I am so thankful for the country which I call home. I feel so blessed to have grown up here.

Award Two:
Friends

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Award 3:
Lemons to Lemonade

I do not have eight people to tag since I cannot tag the person who tagged me and a few people on my list have already been tagged. So here's my taggees:

1. Kelly @ Reality Continues to Ruin My Life.
2. Kelsey @ Breathe.
3. Jenn @ Mad Props and Good Times.


How sad. I need to find more blogs to read. I'm getting on it now!

Kicking the Bucket.

So I decided to copy The To-Do List Queen with one of her lists she recently made: A Bucket List - or, things you'd like to do before you die. This is a short list, only 5, but alas, here are mine.

República Dominicana
I would love to travel to my husbands native country where he spent the first seven years of his life. I want to experience the culture, meet the people, eat the food, and gain a better understanding of where he came from.

Volunteer
I have volunteered before, but I would specifically like to volunteer for an animal shelter or rescue agency. If you know me, you know animals are very important to me.

Learn Spanish
I am well on my way, but I would like to become fluent in Spanish for my future children and so I can speak to my in laws. I think this would be a great accomplishment for me.

Tour Europe
There is so much history in Europe, I would love to go to Germany and the Czech Republic to learn more about my ancestry. I would love to see the Eifel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, and Stonehenge in the United Kingdom.

Summer Olympics
I love the Olympics, especially the Summer Games, and I would love to be able to attend sometime in my life.

This was actually pretty cool to think about, maybe I won't ever do any of these things, but it would be really neat and fulfilling to accomplish some of them during my life.

I'm a Hermit.

Everybody has things about themselves that the dislike. I have a few, but on of the biggest things that bothers me about myself is my extreme homebodiness. Yes, I made up a word to describe my inability or lack of desire to leave my home. It's strange really, because I have amazing friends that I love to hang out with, but unless they invite me to leave my apartment, you can bet I'll be holed up inside. I don't know whether it's because I am lazy or because I can't think of anything to do, but I'm sure it gets perceived wrong. I can't think of a time recently where I have asked one of my friends to do something, instead, they ask me. I love it when they do, because like I said, I enjoy hanging out with them. I know I cannot be the only one who notices this, I'm sure my friends wonder why I never ask them to do anything, for this I am sorry and it is truly unintentional. I know I need to work on it, I just don't know how to when I've been this way for so long.

Friends, if you're reading this, please know I love to hang out and if I am not busy with school, which seems to be taking up larger chunks of my time than previously, then I would love to hang out.

Ugh. I'm in a funk, I need to drag myself out of it.

Back to Reality.

Today was the first day of classes after Spring Break last week, and needless to say, it was an unwelcome return to the daily grind. I actually had a fabulous Spring Break, even though I didn't do much of anything. I saw Bestie a few times, which was really nice actually, I miss being able to hang out all the time. I also celebrated my 25th birthday on Friday the 13th. Hubby had the day off, so we did some shopping and had a nice lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We actually ventured out to purchase my birthday present, a new Coach bag I had been eying, but it wasn't at the PX when we got there. I may still purchase one from the mall or when I go home for Easter, but I'm in no rush. With it being a costly purchase, I like to make sure I buy one I really like, and not one just to have one. So even though I didn't get that gift, I got some other great ones. Kelsey got me a Legwand t-shirt which I couldn't find all season, Jenn gave me a puck signed by Legwand that she won at a game, Ashley got me the sweetest Willow Tree figurines, and I got money/gift cards from my parents, sister, and Grandma.

It's hard to believe that I am actually 25! I remember thinking when I was younger, all the things I'd do by the time I was 25, and I haven't done any of them. I have no children, which is something I thought I'd have by now, and honestly, I'm not even disappointed that I don't! I am a firm believer that things will happen when they are supposed to, I am not interested in doing crazy things to conceive. If it happens, I will welcome it, if it doesn't, it's not meant to be.

Well, this blog took a totally different route than I planned. I'm 25 and even though life isn't how I expected, it's a million times better than I could ever have hoped for.

I Hate This Part Right Here.

Today, I went to my best friends house for probably the last time. I had to get mine and my husbands bikes that she so graciously allowed us to keep in their shed for the past 2 years. We hung out for a little bit, talking about people like we normally do. I left when the moving people came to do her home inspection before they packed her house on Thursday. It didn't really hit me until I was driving home how different everything will be in a few short weeks. Now, I will see her again, she's going to stay with her parents for a few weeks until they make their final move, but today felt like the beginning of the end. Someone who has been an important part of my life for the past three years, is leaving. We both knew it was inevitable, one of us would leave, if not her now, me this summer. But it doesn't make it any easier. When our husbands were deployed, we had each other. She was my family during those trying times, and no matter who else we befriended, in our hearts, we were still each others number one. Since she's had a child, and our husbands returned from war again, out friendship had changed, but in so many ways, we're still those young 20 & 22 year old smoking menthols on the back porch, sharing dreams, making fun of each other, and holding on tightly to one another, looking to the future. I know wherever we both go, we will make new friends, we'll have new best friends, but we'll still hold onto what we had here. She will always be one of my closest and best friends. I love you Mrs. Amazing ;]

Not So Grand.

A few weeks ago, Kelsey and I were selected to play in a commercial break game at the Predators game. I won the game and two tickets to see Josh Turner and Carrie Underwood at the Grand Ole Opry. I of course asked Kelsey to go with me since we were both in the game, she however had plans to go to Philly to see the Predators play that day. So then I asked Bestie to go, but she had to cancel last minute. At this point, I was running out of friends to ask. I decided to ask Alexis, she is my husband best friends wife and her sister just moved away, so I knew she was probably lonely, and I really like her.
So we drove to Nashville, and spent 15 minutes trying to find a parking spot. It was a nightmare with so many people at Opry Mills and at the opry house. Anyways, we finally got into the Opry and bought some drinks and sat down in our seats, which were really good seats. The seats however, we not single seats, it was bench seating. Which was fine, but a little strange. Now the show itself is broken down into 4 half hour segments, with most performers singing one song, and most of the people on stage were old and wearing sparkly outfits. Josh Turner sang in the second segment, but only sang 2 songs! It was kind of a let down. Carrie Underwood was the last performer and she sang a whopping 3 songs. And that was it! I appreciate the opry for its history, but it really just wasn't my scene. I sat in that seat for 2 hours to hear 5 songs. I can now say I've been to the Grand Ole Opry, but I can honestly say I have no desire to go back. Thank God the tickets were free!

Twit, Tweet, Twat.

Yes, I realize the title to this blog may be just a tad vulgar, ya know, with twat being so offensive. Aside from twat, those words are new to me. Yes, friends, I am now a twitter-er, if that is even how one would say that. In other words, I am now a member of the Twitter community. In a nutshell, it's a website where all you do it update what your doing...or so I think. That's all I've been able to figure out. It's almost a pretty Facebook status update page. I already have four people following my twitter updates, which are affectionately called tweets. People whom I've never met, except for my sister who decided to lose her Twitter virginity with me. I wouldn't want to be a twit all by myself, ya know. It's too early for me to get a true sense of Twitter and give a final verdict on it, but I have to say adding TinyTwitter to my BlackBerry has been a fun way to experience the site when I am bored inbetween classes. So for now, Twitter is okay in my book.

In case your interested, you can view my tweets here.

There are so many social networking websites these days, it's hard to even keep up.
MySpace - over it.
Tagged - A bunch of weird old men wanting to meet me.
Xuqa - Another 'college only' website gone public, and stupid before and after.
Facebook - Still going strong!

Anyway, that's it for today. Adios mi amigos!

Boooo!

I admit, I am obsessed with all things paranormal. I am addicted to shows like Paranormal State, Ghost Hunters, A Haunting, Most Haunted, & Ghost Adventures. I often spend my free time looking for scary videos on Youtube, but I am running out of things to watch. I have no idea where this interest came from or how it developed. I remember as a child loving scary movies, going to haunted house, and just being spooked in general. I have played Ouija boards, I have went to cemeteries at night, gone into old abandoned houses, just looking for something paranormal, seeking something to scare me.

After all the time I've spent looking for ghosts, I've had very few personal experiences. I once saw a ghost/appartition when I lived in Arizona. It was a woman in a green victorian style dress standing in my kitchen, looking at me. It really did scare me, but I never saw her or had any other experiences in that apartment again. I've also had experiences with two separate 'people' on the Ouija board when I was about 10 or 11.

I have no idea why I'm writing about this, perhaps it's because I have very few paranormal shows left to watch, or because I'm bored and needed something to blog about. My husbands thinks ghosts are fake and that I'm silly...what do you think about ghosts?

Awarded!

I got my first award today, well a while ago, but I finally have time today to accept it and post one here. I didn't even know I could be awarded by people, but Bestie thinks my blog is worthy. So here is my award:

1. Choose blogs that you find awesome in content or design

2. Put on your blog with a link and let them know you awarded them

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself

So, onto my ten honest things:

1. I prefer to shop alone. I hate feeling like people are waiting on me, as I need to try everything on before buying it.

2. If I am at home, I can guarantee that I am wearing slippers, no matter what season. I have three different pairs, depending upon the season & I take them with me when I travel.

3. I don't have friends. I mean, I have acquaintances and people who I know, but the people who I let in my life, they are my best friends.

4. I hate people. Seriously, 99.9% of the people in this world I could care less about. I am very impatient and a little judgmental, and lets face it folks, people are effing annoying.

5. I hate when dogs sniff crotches. I know they don't know better and it's natural for them, but it's seriously disgusting and even if my crotch is freshly washed, I feel dirty.

6. I am super competitive, whether is be a game of cards or the clothes I wear, I feel like I have to win. It's definitely a flaw.

7. I hate talking on the phone most of the time. I call my parents weekly, and will talk briefly on the phone, but actual conversations make me uncomfortable. I don't know why. I also never order food, Jenry does.

8. I really want a new vehicle, an SUV or crossover. I love my car, but I'd have it for 5.5 years and I'm itching for something new.

9. I hate cooking. Well, I hate coming up with new ideas. I know my husband probably gets tired of the same 'ol thing, but I'm too scared to try new things because I fear I'll screw it up.

10. I cannot go #2 in public -- unless it's an emergency. If I am somewhere (restaurant, friends house, etc), I will leave to go to my apartment to use the bathroom. When I went to Iraq, I didn't go #2 for 2 weeks because I wasn't comfortable with it.

So there it is. I also bestow this award to:
Kelsey @ Breathe.
Kelly @ Reality Continues to Ruin My Life
Jenn @ Mad Props and Good Times.
Ashley@ Ashley Amazing.

Will update soon!

Weekends = Love.

I am so glad the weekend has arrived. Every Monday morning, I wake up with a feeling of dread that another week has crept up on me and that another weekend has passed so quickly. This week was a little more stressful than the previous few weeks, as I had three tests this week. On Tuesday, I had my Geology lab test, which to my delight, I got a 97% on. Wednesday I had the test for my Geology lecture class, which I received a 75% on. Normally a C wouldn't satisfy me, but when 45% of the class got D's & F's, I took my C and ran with it. Science of any sort isn't my strong area, add the fact that it was over 4 chapters, I felt like I did okay. Thursday I had my Spanish test, but I won't find out those results until Monday. I am not good at that class and it really is hard to learn another language, especially since I took the first half online. But I genuinely want to learn, so I am trying my hardest.

Last night I went to probably one of the most amazing hockey games I've ever been to. We (Nashville Predators) played the St. Louis Blues. The Blue are in last place in the Western Conference, but we're were only ahead of them by a few points. Theoretically, it should've been an easy win, but for some reason, we suck against them. During the third period, the game was 3-2, STL. As the period wound down, I was becoming more and more certain that this would be yet another loss to the Blues, but some miracle must've happened, because with 3 seconds remaing, we scored to tie the game. That of course meant overtime, which isn't terrible, because we atleast get one point, either way. After playing for 5 minutes, the game was still tied and it went into a shootout. I was a little nervous, but to my amazement, we scored and ended up with the win. It was a great game & a great ego boost for the Preds!

Anyway, the weekend is here and I am rather excited to sleep in tomorrow (fyi: sleeping in now means sleeping till 10am, it used to mean noon, haha). One of the hubby's best friends is getting out of the Army and this is his last weekend here, so we're heading over to his house tonight to cook steaks on the grill & have a few drinks. I plan on buying some Mike Hard Pomengrate Lemonade to bring. I love thos things, best bottled girly drinks ever :] Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, but with it being a payday and a holiday, we don't intend to go out, we'll probably save it for another day when the urge to punch someone in the face won't come over me. I did however receieve pretty flowers today, which all three of my cats have attempted to eat for the 4 hours that they've been in my home.

This may have been my longest blog on here, I'm proud. I know my blogs aren't as insightful or creative as BFF's, but they're good for the people the matter. As for now, I'm off to fold some laundry (most dreaded chore, next to dusting), and wait for the hubby to get home from PetSmart. Hopefully I'll blog sometime this week.

Blah.

The past week I haven't really felt well. I was super hungry, and then when I'd eat, I feel sick afterward. I've also been feeling a little queasy. I'm not sure exactly what it is, perhaps it's just the extreme change in the weather, who knows? Along with that, I've been super busy studying for school. I had a Geology lab test today, a Geology lecture test tomorrow (err today), and a Spanish test on Thursday. I already can't wait for the weekend! The hubby has to work a 24 hour shift tomorrow, so that should give me ample time to study for Spanish. Anyway, I'm off to bed, just wanted to update real quick, longer update this weekend.

Beep, beep!

There's nothing like being awoken by a beep beep. Not the beeps of a passing car, honking obnoxiously or the repetitive beeping of our stupid alarm clock, but rather the beeping of the smoke detector as our apartment regains power. Yesterday and today, our electricity has been anything but consistent. It likes to come on for a few hours and trick me into thinking it's here to stay, so I get comfortable. I start a load of laundry or the dishwasher, only to be interrupted by yet another power outage!

Yesterday we had an ice storm, and while my classes were canceled, the hubby still had to go into work. Afterward, he went to the gym and asked me to pick him up, yes I was venturing out into the crazy world that is southern drivers in bad weather. The power had went out again, so I was happy to get into my heated car. I drove to the end of our street only to see that the traffic light had lost power as well. Now, when this happens, you're supposed to treat the intersection as a 4-way stop. Well, I treated it as such, but about 90% of the drivers on the road didn't. After sitting there for about 5 minutes, people finally let me make my left hand turn & I was on my way. Going to post didn't take long at all, but coming back was a nightmare. We stopped to get dinner on our way home because of the bad power situation, so yes, I ate bad yesterday, it felt pretty good too.

My school was on a '2 hour delay' today and was set to open at 10, but I received a text at about 7:30am telling me campus was closed yet again. The hubby has already been told not to come in until 9am, but they called to tell him not to come in till noon, which really didnt matter either way since we again had no freaking power. He was on his way to work when they called to tell him not to come in at all. That may seem insignificant to most, but I found it extremely annoying!

Anyway, the power has still been glitchy today, so I'm getting off here & going to fold some laundry. Adios!

Only in Tennessee.

Today was the first day of the semester and also one of the coldest days of the year! As I was leaving school, I received an e-mail on my Blackberry. Now I get a lot of 'junk mail', hence why I even received this stupid e-mail. Now to the reason to this blog - the content of the e-mail said schools in middle Tennessee would be closed tomorrow. Now I know this state is rather unprepared for acclimate weather (i.e. 1/2 inch of snow and patches of ice), but this reasoning behind the schools closing tomorrow? Coldness. As I saw this in my e-mail, I couldn't help but question myself as to whether I had read this correctly. They're going to close school because it's cold? I mean yeah, it's cold, I agree. And while I may be more accustomed to colder weather being from Michigan, I still can't get over that they're closing schools because of this. Last time I checked, coldness has no effect on driving to and from school and while it's cold outside, students will be indoors for the school day. I truly find this comical and while I think it's truly stupid, I'm a little sad that the universities aren't buying into this lame excuse for a day off and giving college students a day off too :]

I'm Proud to be an American

Citizen, that is. My husband however, is not one. No, he's not in the country illegally, he's a legal alien resident, which means he came here the right way. We're in the process right now of getting his citizenship. We attempted to do this while he was in Iraq, but they sent him on his way with a stack of paperwork. However, today he actually sat and spoke to someone who gave him the correct paperwork & advice on filling it out -- which by the way I will be filling out since I have 'pretty handwriting'. He was also told that he would still have to take the Citizenship Test, which he will have to travel to Memphis to take. He was told he would be asked 5-10 questions by a person, but someone told him that when they took the 'test', the examiner asked him how long he had been serving and didn't even ask him test questions, he was approved immediately. We're hoping that the case will be similar with my husband, as you have to answer all questions correctly. After nearly eight years of service, I hope that make up for his lack of remembering stuff.

It's not that he is uneducated or doesn't know anything about America, afterall he's been living here for 18 years. It's just that he 1) hasn't been in school for 7 years, and 2) History wasn't his best subject. We took a look at the 100, yes 100, possible citizenship test questions and some of them are absurd! I'm not a betting woman, but I'd put money on it that the majority of Americans could not answer all 100 of those questions correctly. So, needless to say, it will take some quizzing on my part to help prepare him for this, if they do indeed ask him the 5-10 questions.

I'm excited for him though. I'm glad we're finally starting this process up. It will help him with job prospects once he's out of the military and really just in daily life. On a side note, I think that if a LEGAL non-citizen serves in the military for four years, they should automatically be granted citizenship. I understand the paperwork...but seriously, 20 pages of the same information, my hand hurts already :]

Arizona? Maybe, Baby.

As my husbands time in the military comes to a close, we're starting to really think about our future. Today on our way home, we were talking in the car about what we were going to do, since we only have 5 months to figure this all out and continuing to serve in the military is NOT and option here in a few days. Anyway, he has been dead set on finding a way for us to make it in New York City, where his family is. He has always listened to my point of going elsewhere, saving more money, and settling for a few years before we go to NY. Well, today, he told me that I was right and that we probably should do that. I was in shock! He has always listened to my points, but would always go right back to arguing his point for NYC.

One big concern of his was housing. I had looked at homes for sale in Arizona (where we're seriously considering going) and I didn't like any of them, but I explained to him that I was looking at home in our current price range. If he were working at one of the jobs he's considering, we'd be making considerably more and would be able to afford a nicer home. I was looking at homes online this evening and found more homes that I like and some that I even *gasp* love! If we do indeed go to Arizona, my husband would continue working for the for the government either as a civillian on base or Border Patrol. I know nothing is set in stone, but I love Arizona, the weather, the vast open spaces, and the history.

We have a lot of work to do if we want this to happen, mainly paperwork for my husband. Even if we don't end up there, we're on our way to somewhere else and I am so very excited!

Long Time, No Blog!

I haven't blogged in so long, partially due to my husbands return from Iraq & the holidays, partially because I was starting to resent blogging. I don't know if you recall or not, but I had a class last semester where I had to write blogs on blogger and therefore blogging turned into homework. However, I am back and will try to blog more often.

Anyway, here is a small update on my life! My husband returned home from Iraq November 2nd, which of course made me incredibly happy! Here's a photo from that day. Thanks Bestie for coming along as a photographer (and for support of course!).
After he returned, leave started the day before Thanksgiving, so we traveled to Michigan to spend the holiday with my family. I still had about a month and a half of the semester remaining after his return, so even though I was very distracted, I finished the semester (this includes a 10pg paper, a 5pg paper, a presentation, and a few tests). A week or so after the semester ended, Jenry and I traveled to New York City to spend Christmas with his family. We had a good time hanging out with both his family and friends while we there, but we both eager to head home. The past week has flown by and while we are sad that he has to go back to work, we both know he has no choice.

That's it with me! I still have a week and half until classes start up again for me, so you may see me here again soon :]