Merry Christmas!

What do you get with 9 choir members, 1 choir director, 1 pianist, 1 priest, 1 altar boy, 1 lector, and 25 congregation members?...

A simple, but beautiful midnight mass in the north country!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

I hope that you all have a fabulous Christmas with your friends and family. And for those of you who are away from family members this year, I pray that you all stay safe and stay strong!

And The Traveling Begins...

It is that time now...A will finally be starting his leave tomorrow. At which point we will begin our travels. We will start by heading north to my parents' house in VA. We will get to spend the evening celebrating Christmas with them before A and I head to NY, and my parents head to Chicago to see my brother. All of us will be leaving VA on Thursday. Thursday will definitely be a day full of traveling since it is about an 11 to 12 hour drive to his parents' house from mine. It will all be worth it, and hey...it's 11 to 12 hours I get to spend with him, right?! :-) I'm looking forward to every minute of it. Pictures and posts will come later as the traveling starts and the good times continue!

Soldiers and Jesus

I have been doing a lot of driving up and down I-95 in the last couple of weeks. Therefore, I have been listening to a lot of music. There have been multiple songs that have "hit me" while I listened to them and I thought I would share this one with you today. I feel like this song is very appropriate as we approach the holidays. All of our men and women in uniform have given so much up and many of them are away from their families right now. Also, the true reason for Christmas is because it is the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I would like to say, Thank You to all of our troops and Thank You Jesus!

Soldiers and Jesus: By - James Otto

Grand-daddy came home in a B-52
In a pine box covered in red, white, and blue
He was one of the brave and the proud and the few

Twenty-one guns helped us say goodbye
I stood there in silence tryin' not to cry
As the preacher, he quoted, lines written in red
And then folded his bible and in a broken voice, he said

There's only two people who's every died for me
Laid down their lives just so I could be free
They both went through hell, beared crosses and shells
And both got back up again after they fell

They never picked the fight, but they're there
To pick up the pieces

God only knows who we'd be without soldiers and Jesus

It seems like the news loves to run 'em both down
But whenever we need 'em, they're always around
So don't hand me a party's political views
'Cause they're a left side, a right side, and then there's the truth

There's only two people who's every died for me
Laid down their lives just so I could be free
They both went through hell, beared crosses and shells
And both got back up again after they fell

They never picked the fight, but they're there
To pick up the pieces
God only knows who we'd be without soldiers and Jesus

To me, they're both heroes for the path that they chose
'Cause one fights for my life, one fights for my soul

There's only two people who's every died for me
Laid down their lives just so I could be free
They both went through hell, beared crosses and shells
And both got back up again after they fell

They never picked the fight, but they're there
To pick up the pieces

God only knows where we'd be without soldiers and Jesus
Soldiers and Jesus

A Year Ago VS. A Week Ago

Here we were a year ago right before saying goodbye but already having tears in the eyes...

And now, as of a week ago, we have been reunited and I couldn't be happier (even if we were outside in 20 degree weather and we were all freezing)!It is hard to believe that he is finally home, but it really does come to an end. I have been reminded over and over again as to why this past year was worth going through. It has been wonderful to have him back! I love you A!

Flowers...

For what?!? You ask! ....

END of deployment.

I walked in after class one night last week to these flowers (thanks to the roomie for taking them out of the box so they wouldn't freeze on our front step!) On the note it said "X (number) days until we are together again". Well we are getting close to that number and I'm getting more and more excited! YAY! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you!

I hope that you all have a wonderful day with friends and family. If you are away from your loved ones, I thank you for all that you have given and hope that you can spend it with them next year.
It is yet another holiday spent without A, but I am just thankful that it is another day closer to seeing him! :-)

I felt like this really says it all:
And this is just funny...hehe! -

Changes

...that's exactly what keeps happening with A's return information. A few weeks ago, we were given one date for his return. I had been slightly stressed because of the timing in comparison to my final exams, etc. but had gotten passed this issue after talking to my professors and working it all out. So I was getting really excited as this date was approaching and getting closer and closer.

There is a website where the homecoming ceremony information is posted and I kept waiting to see his flights ceremony information. Well, I was excited yesterday to see this information, but it was listed as being a few days later than I had thought. Ok, not what I was expecting, but this might be better...after all, then I can go to my classes and be in GA when he gets in and not miss as much school. So I was annoyed it was a few days late, but was trying to look at the bright side of things.

Well...now, we are being told that the information that was posted on the website is wrong and that you should go with the information being told to you by your soldier. WHAT?!?! Maybe if they could just get this stuff straight...of course, I know that the date can change ANY time, so I'm dealing with it as it comes and I need to not get comfortable with any sort of "definite" information, but it's getting frustrating! AHHH. Thanks for letting me vent. Regardless, it's just around the corner and I can't wait to be wrapped in his arms again :-)

Happy Birthday Big Brother

Happy 30th Birthday Michael!!

I am headed up to NYC right now on a bus from DC to meet up with my brother for his bday weekend (and more importantly...Notre Dame vs. Army football!)
I'm looking forward to a fabulous weekend with my brother and some of his friends. I have not spent his birthday with him in probably 10 years if not more so this is great.
Pictures of the great weekend to come...but for now, here's a pic of us at his graduation in May:
Oh...and Happy Birthday to my puppy, Jewels, who turns 3 today! Yes...my dog and my brother really do have the same bday. When I saw her and then saw her bday, I knew that I would just have to have her. :-)

Happy Veteran's Day!

And thank you for your service to all of our veterans and our men and women who are in uniform today! It is because of you that we can continue our lives the way we do.

Here is a prayer that I would like to share with all of you:

God of peace, we pray for those who have served our nation and have laid down their lives to protect and defend our freedom.
We pray for those who have fought, whose spirits and bodies are scarred by war, whose nights are haunted by memories too painful for the light of day.
We pray for those who serve us now, especially for those in harm's way.
Shield them from danger and bring them home.
Turn the hearts and minds of our leaders and our enemies to the work of justice and a harvest of peace.
Spare the poor, Lord!
May the peace you left us, the peace you gave us, be the peace that sustains, the peace that saves.
Christ Jesus, hear us!
Lord Jesus, hear our prayer!
Amen

--Author Unknown

I thought this was a prayer that says it all! May God watch over each of you and your loved ones, especially those of you who are separated from your loved ones at this time.

God Really Does Answer Prayers!

I do not tend to get super religious on my blog. However, I am a practicing Catholic and felt the need to thank Him today.

My uncle was diagnosed with leukemia over the summer. He has undergone multiple sessions of chemo over the past few months and fortunately was able to make it to my cousin's (his son's) wedding a couple weeks ago. However, at that point he was seeming very weak and was looking down the not-so-fun road of more chemo. We were told that if a blood marrow donor was not found that he would have to undergo at least 3 more sessions of chemo. His sister has cancer and therefore cannot be a donor and his brother was not a match. Therefore, we had to pray that there was somebody out there who was a match and willing to donate. We, as a family, said many prayers and continued to ask others for prayers. Well...on Sunday night my dad talked to my uncle and found out that a donor has been found and that he will be getting the bone marrow transplant sometime after Christmas! Now let's pray that the transplant goes well and that his body accepts it.

Thank you God for answering our prayers!

Counting?!

Counting up/down the days! Did/do you count the days? We are getting fairly close to the end and as much as I try not to count, I just can't help myself. I don't know the exact number of course because I have no clue for sure what day he'll be home. But I have a pretty good idea about when it will be. I just can't wait! I'm getting so excited at this point and have been trying to focus on my school work and stuff, but it's so hard. I've been having a lot of trouble concentrating lately. I am so ready for this all to just be over.

I think that my fears have set in the most right now and unfortunately I do not think that it will really getting any better until he is finally home. But that's ok. I'll get through it. I know I will! But I definitely have to keep reminding myself of that.

So with a combination of my fears and my readiness/excitement of the end being in sight, I have been STRUGGLING to concentrate and get work done. Somehow, I have been able to pull it all together at the last minute for all of my assignments this semester but I really need to get on top of things. Cuz when I put it off, I end up just adding to my stress. OOPS! :-D

Off to bed for me so that I am rested tomorrow for work and then school work! YIPPY!

So...did/do you count?! Or did you find that you tried not to?

I Know TOO Much

Nope...I'm not talking about being super intelligent and knowing too much. (Not that I'm saying I lack intelligence ~ HAHA!) But that's not what I mean.

What I mean is...

I know too much that has happened in the last 7 (almost 8) years of our country being at war.

I know too much about things my brother has experienced when he was deployed.

I know too much about the bad things that CAN happen.

I know too much about what A has experienced during this deployment.

I know too much!

In an email that I received a couple days ago, A said it himself. He said that he knows he shares too much information with me sometimes and that he knows it causes me to worry. This is true, but I always tell him to talk to me about things if he needs to and not to be concerned about me worrying. I'm going to worry regardless of what I know. I love the fact that he is comfortable talking to me about things, but there are times that I feel like I know too much. And that's ok, I've been dealing with it pretty well throughout this deployment. I am just ready for it to come to an end. Obviously, I have been ready for that since it began, but it has truly gotten to me at this point. I have a lot of things coming up in the next couple of weeks which have me looking forward to them and then into those events comes A coming home. So before I know it, it will be here, but I'm ready to no longer worry about "Knowing Too Much"!

How much does your soldier/sailor/airman/marine/coastie share with you during a deployment? Have you felt like you "Knew Too Much"?

Decisions

First of all...so sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I feel like my life consists of work, school, some more work, school, work again, do school work, and maybe get some sleep and relaxation in there at some point. To catch up real quick since my last post...I had a fabulous time in GA with Expat Girl last weekend. It was wonderful getting to spend some time with her in her fabulous new house. She has really done a wonderful job putting it together. I'm proud of her for all that she has accomplished on her own while Mr Soldier is gone. It was also nice getting to see Maddie again since it had been a couple months since I last saw her and boy is she growing up.

But so onto today's topic...DECISIONS! The main reason that I planned the trip to GA was to try to look into some places to live for when A gets back (mainly for him but for me to go visit and then possible live once I graduate in May!). So it will be "our" first place...at least as far as deciding where to live and I'll get to decorate! YIPPY! We are debating on a few things and seem to be coming to conclusions but I'm really not sure. We are thinking about whether or not to get a place in the city which is about 45 minutes from post or in the suburb which is only about 30 minutes from post. Living downtown would be fabulous with all of the things to do but it's a longer drive to work for A, a little more expensive, and I'm not really going to be there much until the summer (and then he PCS's in August/September) so he'll be traveling to VA a lot on weekends. Also, he has thought about getting a place with some of the other guys so that it's cheaper. The guys he has talked to about this also have girlfriends who live out of the state so they also would be traveling a lot on weekends.

So...downtown or suburb?!?! And roommates or own place?!?!

A Weekend Getaway!

HAHA...yes, that's right ~ I'm getting away from home for the weekend. Wish it was a weekend getaway with A...but for not a weekend in Georgia with Expat Girl will just have to suffice. :-) Heading there tomorrow to have some fabulous girl time (and look at some places for when A returns ~ but that's not the good stuff! J/K Super excited about that!) Anyway...looking forward to the trip even though it's going to be really weird being there without A. I'll see you shortly Expat Girl. And please say some prayers for safe travels and no speeding tickets...I've only gotten a couple on this trip before. :-D

I Want It Wednesday!

CHRISTMAS!!!

.......

because by then A should most definitely be home! If not...the Army will be hearing from me. :-)

I can't wait to be in his arms again and to know that he is out of harm's way!

(So basically I want A to be home...but I figured I'd put a date of some sort on it since I can't really count down.)

A New Month!

Welcome October!!!

I can't believe that another month has come and gone and here we are in October now. This just means that the end is even MORE in sight. So...in September I posted an entire 6 times due to the fact that my life is being run completely by school (and a little work!). My goal for this month is to post at least double that...I just miss you all so much!

Additional goals for this month:
-Continue doing well in my classes
-Go to GA to look at possible homes for A and I (even though I won't be there until May ~ BUMMER!)
-Save (a little) money
-Have fun with my girlfriends
-Let A know that I love him as often as possible! :-)
-Send 2 packages to A
-Spend time with my mom
-Eat healthier
-Work out AT LEAST 4 times a week
-Loose 5 lbs (Hopefully more...but I want to be realistic!)

Well...wish me luck! The new month starts now (well...really 10 minutes ago!)

Suggestions on Video Cameras Wanted!

I need a camcorder for school so that I can tape myself practicing my skills. (No...I am not that vain that I want to "tape myself"!) HAHA!

So I am debating on what I should get. I don't want to spend TOO much money, but I definitely want it to be worth the money. Hopefully I will be able to use it for fun and not just school. I could spend a little extra money and purchase a Flip. (which is shown below...yes it is pink because let's be honest...if I could a Flip it would be the pink one!) picture from Walmart.com

Or...I could be cheap and get something else. I'm not even sure what the something else would be at this second, but there are plenty of camcorders that are cheaper.

Do any of you know anything about camcorders and have suggestions? I really don't even know where to start when looking at these. I've heard that the Flip is good, but is it worth the extra money? I am willing to spend it if that's what the rest of the world thinks is the best way to go. Thanks for the input! :-)

Girlfriends!

Oh how I love them! :-) I just got back from hanging out with 4 wonderful women who I'm in school with. These ladies are great. We met up for dinner and wine at this great place in town. It was fabulous. These girls are just a fun group of people to be around. We smile, laugh, and cry with each other. It's so awesome how when you "click" with a group of people it just happens.

The boyfriend of one of the other girls is in the Marines and he just deployed a few weeks ago. I'm glad that I have been going through this experience so that I can try to help her get through this. I know how rough it can be! ... and let's be honest... it doesn't necessarily get better. It's more that you learn how to cope with it better. I am so glad that I have this close group of friends to finish up this deployment and school year with. However, I'm going to miss them all when I graduate! :-(

What types of things do you do with your girlfriends?!

J-M-U DUKES!!!

I am so proud to be a Duke Dog today! We beat VA Tech 21-16. Many of you might not realize the significance of this...but although JMU has been a good team in the past, they should NEVER be able to beat VT. However, the team proved that wrong today because it happened. Great job today Dukes! So proud to "Bleed Purple"

Click here to see an article on ESPN about VT "self-destructing" Love it! :-)

Random ~ But FUN!

First of all...this is my 100th post. I know this means that I am supposed to be answering the questions from the Q & A. But unfortunately I have not yet had the time to sit and do this, nor do I really have the time right now (I probably shouldn't even be posting at all at the moment!). To those of you who have asked questions or are curious of my answers to those that have been asked...don't worry, I will get to them...probably this weekend. Thanks so much for asking questions...and if you still have questions you have one last chance to ask! And yay for 100 Posts!

So I've been putting off posting because I wanted to do the Q & A for Post 100 but just haven't had a chance, which is why I decided that I needed to just post and get over it. :-) Sorry! So, I had a wonderful day at the spa on Saturday with my roomie. We both got a manicure, pedicure, hour long massage, and had our hair styled! It was an absolute blast. If you ever get the chance to go...do it! It was so relaxing...it was greatly needed and greatly appreciated by both of us. Therefore, I have to say thanks to A for making this possible. You are so wonderful and spoil me so much! I love you!! XOXO

Today was my first day at practicum for school counseling. I will be at a middle school for 1-2 days a week this semester. Today was the students' first day of school. I was fortunate to be able to go today and see what it is like to start off a new school year. I had a great day. I was a little nervous, but I had a lot of fun and I think it went pretty well. I have been working on my plans for this semester of working with students. I can't wait to really start working with them, rather than "just" dealing with scheduling problems.

After my day at school, I had 2 three hour classes. Therefore, it has been an incredibly long day of schooling. So, it is time for me to get some sleep. Good night all! Have a great day

An Emotional Wreck

AHHHHH...GRRRRR!!! I am sick of being an emotional wreck right now. I was at church this evening for a meeting and we were going around introducing ourselves. While introducing ourselves we were stating how we have seen God in our week. After saying who I was, I started sobbing. REALLY?!?! It's been a busy week so I thought I was "over" the fact that I was missing A so much. Well...I was definitely wrong. Fortunately I had my wonderful roomie there and everybody was incredibly supportive. Obviously I got through it, but I just wish that these emotions didn't just randomly hit me.

Other than my being an emotional wreck this evening, today was a great day. I worked this morning and then spent some time at my practicum site. Tuesday is the first day of school and all the students came in today to get their schedules. It was great getting to meet some of them. I can't wait for this semester to really get underway.

First Week

I have completed my first week of classes for my LAST fall semester EVER of school! HAHA. I know...it's a HUGE stretch of trying to get in a "last" but hey it is one! I have one class on Monday nights and two on Tuesday nights this semester. It shouldn't be too bad of a semester. Lots of work but it should be fun. One of my courses is practicum and I am really looking forward to finally getting to practice all that I have learned. I have been placed in a local middle school (6th-8th grade) for this experience. I think that I will learn a lot from my site supervisor and all of the students at the school. I will be starting that on Tuesday, which is the public schools' first day of school. Should be an interesting day! :-)

1 Year Ago

A year ago "A" and I went for a hike up Hurricane Mountain in NY to celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary. It was a beautiful hike and just a great time having him to myself for a little while. Oh how I wish that we were able to spend this day together again this year. However, he is doing his job which I am sooo proud of him for and I look forward to celebrating all of our special days together next year! :-) I LOVE YOU A!!!

(Don't forget to ask your questions here if you have any AT ALL for my 100th post!)

The Little Blue Box

AHHHH!!! That's what I got...a Little Blue Box. :-) And you all knew it! I can't believe that none of you loved me enough to tell me. HAHA. But I forgive you. Yes, I know you are all thinking..."Didn't she say she had to wait until Monday to open it?" Well, you are right. But I was able to convince A that I should get to open it today. I just made sure that I looked as pitiful as possible on Skype earlier. HEHE. And I made him laugh in the process too. As I joked to open it before he said I could, and had the box sitting on one side of me and a pair of scissors on the other. He was like "You a little anxious to open it already?!" Well yes of course I was. He finally gave me permission to open it and this is what I found...

A beautiful robin egg blue box with a pretty white bow!

And on the box it said...

And inside was a soft little pouch with a gorgeous ring inside.

A beautiful sterling silver ring with 4 round diamonds.

This all makes for a very happy me! I love you so much baby! You are the best and always seem to surprise me.

Anniversary Flowers

Well I still have not been able to convince A to let me open my present which I mentioned in my previous post. However, I did receive some beautiful flowers. Obviously...I was able to open them, otherwise they would have died. Well these flowers are beautiful and the card with them made me tear up. He's so amazing!


Yes, there are 2 dozen roses there! At risk of him being mad at me for sharing...this is what the message says:

A rose for every month you stole my heart.
A petal for every time you gave me yours.
Thank you for the best two years of my life and I look forward to the next sixty with you.
Love forever and ever,
A

EEEEEEKKK!!!! :-) He said he wrote it all on his own. I love you baby!

I Got A Package From Where?!?!

Great Question!!! I have NO idea. However, I'm not allowed to open it until Monday which is my and A's 2 year dating anniversary. This is driving me crazy. Some of my girl friends checked the address online and know where it is from. The only hint that I have is that it says TCO and the address is from NJ! I have NOOOOO idea. They told me that I am not allowed to search for the address because it would ruin it. GRRR. But, if you would like to find out for yourself...here's the address! I figure I'll let the world have a secret for a few days. Why not?! HAHA

15 Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ 07054

And if you love me...you'll tell me where it is! Because then I didn't do the searching on my own! :-)

Questions and Answers

I am about a week away from hitting post 100! So, I thought that for my 100th post I would do a Question/Answer. If you have anything that you would like to ask, go ahead and post it in the comments of this and I will happily answer them for my 100th post. PLEASE ask questions...don't make me beg! :-) And ask anything, there's not much that I would be uncomfortable asking, and if I am, then I just won't answer it. HEHE! So, go ahead...ask away! And make sure that you come back to get your answers. You have about a week to ask questions!

I Want It Wednesday

...to see the end of this deployment!

I know this has been a great week since we've hit 8 months now. However, this deployment seems to have been really getting to me this week. I don't really know why, but it has. I feel like the end is still so far away. A has been incredibly wonderful and positive. I am so glad that he continues to be doing well. But I can't get over the fact that although we've made it through 8 months...we still have about 4 (ish) to go. I know, it's not like this is a shock considering I knew this was a year long deployment. It's just gotten tougher this week. I'm sure once I start classes again in a week and a half for the fall semester I will not even have enough time to realize how much time is left until this deployment comes to an end. But for right now...I JUST WANT HIM HOME!!! Is that so much to ask for? (Actually...yes, it kind of is!) I know. He's doing his job and the US Army owns him. But I'm ready for this year to hurry up and finish. Fortunately I'll be super busy again soon. For right now though, I am so proud of A for all he has done, is doing right now, and will be doing in the next few months. He is so wonderful and amazing. I could not ask to have a better guy in my life! :-) I love you babe!

The Dentist = BAH-HUM-BUG!

I went to the dentist today for a teeth cleaning. I actually don't mind going to the dentist...and never have. After all...my daddy was my dentist for the first few years of my life. :-)

Well...now, I can officially say...I hate the dentist! HAHAHA! Not literally...but I'm definitely not thrilled with the dentist right now. I have gone all X(insert old age here) years of my life with NO (yes...that's right ZERO, ZILCH, NONE!) cavities. Well folks, that has now changed. Yep, I walked out of the dentist today with an appointment to go back on Thursday to have 2, yep...not just 1, but 2!!! cavities filled. To put it mildly...I was not a happy camper this afternoon. But oh well, I guess it eventually happens to all of us. At least they now do fillings with white fillings so you can't really see it.
I will be sure to fill you all in on Thursday as to how it goes! :-(

Moving Video

I was pleasantly surprised when I got an email from one of my sorority sisters. We were really good friends while going through college but have not been in touch much since we graduated. We always connected because we are both military brats and understand the whole military lifestyle. We greatly respected and appreciated each other for that since her dad and my brother deployed while we were in college. Well she said she had received an email from a friend with a YouTube video clip and she felt like I was one of the only people that she thought would truly appreciate it. Well I did greatly appreciate it! So much so that I still have not actually gotten through the whole thing. (It's 10 minutes long!) It is absolutely fantastic and I was very glad she shared it with me. However, it did bring tears to my eyes and after about 3 minutes I was having trouble seeing the screen. HEHE I do plan to watch the rest later. But I thought all of you would appreciate it as much as I did. So, if you'd like to see it...take out the tissues and enjoy!

Go HERE to enjoy!

Yay for the Beach!

I went to this beach this weekend and had a fabulous time. I was very privileged to have spent a long weekend with my mom and some other mothers of America's finest. Yes...that's right I spent some quality time with some wonderful military moms who I have had the honor of getting to know over the last few years. Thanks ladies for letting me join! I had a great time sipping on some wine, learning the "right" way to eat crab, swimming in the pool, playing card games in PJ's, walking on the beach, and just enjoying good conversation and fellowship. It was a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!

(well 26 minutes ago!)


So glad that I got to spend the day/weekend with you! You are a wonderful mom and have been a great caregiver for me and have become a great friend. I love you!

Spoiled Rotten!

Look at what I got in the mail yesterday...

an envelope with this return address

Hmm...that's weird. "Why would I be getting something from them?" I thought. I almost threw it out, but was curious. I opened the envelope and found a catalog. Not sure why I would get a catalog from there, but I fortunately flipped through it real quick. I then realized that there was something in the back of it...

and there was a gift card.

I then wondered what the "instructions" were for this gift since A had told me there would be instructions to come with it. Well...I spoke to him earlier and guess what...my roomie and I are going to the Spa for half a day of mani/pedi, massage, and hair fun!!!! I can't wait. :-) He is so wonderful and I am so spoiled.

Love Being a Kid!

It is so much fun to just be a kid and have a good time. A couple of my friends and I went to play laser tag today. :-) It was a pretty crumby looking day so our plans to go to the amusement park changed. Therefore, we figured we'd find something fun to do indoors. So, laser tag it was! It was an absolute blast. HAHA! We will definitely be doing this again...and hopefully we will be able to get a large group to go next time. Can't wait.


Today became even better after I got back from laser tag because I got to talk to A for about 30 minutes on Skype. So great to see him and know that he is doing ok. And apparently I will be getting something in the mail at the end of this week. Gives me something to look forward to. I'm excited. :-D

Thankful Thursday!

I feel like there are times that I get so stressed about life, deployment, etc. that I forget to be thankful for all of the little things. Plus, I think I have quite a few things to be thankful for the past few days. So here it goes...

I am thankful for...

the fact that I have my car back from the dealership. It "just" needed a new battery. Expensive? Yes. But I have great family...plus it is looking like we should be refunded because I got a new battery less than 3 years ago and there's a warranty.

my wonderful family and friends that are helping me get through one of the hardest times in my life.

the fantastic Expat Girl and Mrs. G. I. Joe who I got to meet up with tonight for dinner and just getting to chat and hang out with them. It is wonderful having them close by during this deployment and dealing with struggles with EG and have the Mrs. to share her wealth of knowledge and experience.

my job which helps me pay the bills and keeps me busy.

my classmates and friends at school. I have become very close with many of them.

A and how great he has been through this entire deployment. He is thousands of miles away and in a war zone...yet, he takes care of me and worries about me? Really?! :-) Oh how I love him.

Car Issues ~ Oh How I HATE Them

Boy has it been a rough day when it comes to car problems. I was at work today. I went to leave at about 3 and had to be back at 4:30. I figured that I would go home real quick, let the pups out for a little while, and relax before heading back to work. Well...needless to say, that didn't happen. When I got to my car at work, I unlocked the doors and rolled down the windows with my key remote (great feature in the Honda Accord!). It's been hot so I was thankful that I was able to roll them down to let some of the heat out before getting right in. I threw my stuff in the car, stuck my key in the ignition, turned it, and ... NOTHING!!! WHAT?! So now, my windows are wide open, the sky is grey looking like it's going to rain any minute, and my car won't start. I don't think so! So I went inside and asked one of the guys to come look at it with me and see what he thought. He said it was probably the battery and that he would call Mall Security (the gym I work at is right outside the mall) to have them jump it for me. Fantastic! No big deal...just a jump and I'll be on my way. The security guard arrives, jumps my car, and the engine starts. Awesome...so now I quickly roll up the windows just in case and am on my way. I get out of the gym parking lot, out of the mall lot and onto a major 3 lane in each direction road. As I'm turning onto it my car cuts off and restarts. Ut oh!! I kept driving and realized that the Malfunction Indicator Lamp was now on. Just what I need...right? HA! So I turn at the next light to get off of this road and onto a slightly less major road. It cuts off and restarts again. At that point I decided I need to just get off the road and call for help. Oh wait...but that's right, I had left my cellphone at my apartment before going to work. Go figure! So I had to get somewhere that I could make a phone call. I continued a little further (mind you, I've only gone about a mile at this point and my car has cut off 2 times!). By the time I pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant which my family frequents, it cut off one more time. Fortunately I was able to make it into the parking lot and just turn off my car. And of course I tried to start it again to see if it would work, and NOPE! Nothing! It was completely dead at that point. My brother came to my rescue after I called for help. Thank God I have AAA so they came and towed my car to the Honda dealership and they will look at it tomorrow. I was only an hour late for getting back to work. HAHA! Needless to say...I hate car issues and they drive me crazy! But at least I was able to get to safety and get assistance. Hope the rest of you had a better day. I wish you good luck with your cars! :-)

SMILING! :-)

As of today...I stand corrected. In a blog last week, I stated that I was "excited about getting his stuff settled into his new place". A has made sure that I realize the apartment in GA will be "our apartment" not "his". He sent me an email earlier and said that he had been catching up on my blog (which I didn't even realize he actually was doing!~Which also makes me happy!). He said while reading he saw that and that "He would like to think that you are not just moving me into my apartment but our apartment". Later tonight I was also able to talk to him on the phone and he stated the same thing. However, further into our conversation he said that he just wants me to move my stuff in so that he can have my dishes and apartment stuff that I have, which he doesn't. HAHA!!! He's such a goof...but it made me laugh so that's ok. Fortunately, I don't take everything he says seriously. I'm getting so excited now and can't wait to find a place in GA and for him to get back. Granted, I'll still be in VA finishing up school, but at least I'll be able to call him whenever I want and I can spend more time with him. YIPPY!

The Reality

WOW! I was watching last night's episode of Army Wives earlier today and it felt like I was reliving last December. I had the emotions of the fights leading up to deployment, the realizing that fighting with each other doesn't make sense, the last dinner together, the long drawn out hugs, and the last kiss! I absolutely love watching this show (even if I do cry EVERY time I watch it!). I know that there is a lot of dramatization, but it is a TV show so that's understanding. However, even with the added factors, the storyline is so real. I seriously cried (not sobbed...just some good tears!) through the entire episode. But it was kind of cleansing for me. So I hope that all you Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Air Force wives/fiances/girlfriends have a wonderful day and that you keep your head up high and just remember...you're not alone! You are NEVER alone! You might feel like NObody understands...but there is somebody out there who knows exactly how you are feeling. Stay strong!

7 Months Down!

I can't believe it. It has been 7 months since A left for deployment. Since then so much has happened. I can't believe that we have really passed the half way point now. Now that it's an extra month it truly feels like we are getting to that downhill slope to his coming home. And no, it hasn't really gotten any easier...but I feel like I can actually start thinking about looking at places in GA for him. And get excited about the idea of getting his stuff settled into his new place before he gets back. With school this fall semester sneaky up quickly, I am going to be super busy. This will be great because hopefully time will fly by.

And not only has it been 7 months since deployment began, it's been (just under) a month since he left after R&R. That was of course a very bitter sweet time to spend together as well as farewell afterward. It was very bitter because I didn't want to see him EVER leave again. However, it was nice to know we were at/past the halfway point already. We are going strong and can make it throgh anything. I just can't wait to continue our lives once he gets back. But I do think that we have both been able to grow a lot through this experience!

Update ~ Good News!

The gentleman at work yesterday is completely fine. He was up last night watching the All Star games. Thank God for answering prayers and helping all of us do our jobs so that he is now doing well!

A Rough Day Made Better

Today was definitely a rough day at work. As many of you know, I work at a local gym. I work in the pool, which is on the first floor, and there is a track on the second floor. A member from the gym had a heart attack (or something) and fell/passed out while running on the track. By the time my supervisor and I found out about what was going on and got upstairs, paramedics and fire rescue had already arrived. It was very touch and go for a while but they did eventually get a pulse before taking him away. One of the employees had begun CPR. All staff responded correctly and there were a few other members who were really helpful. We were just all very shaken up afterward. Hopefully he'll be ok.

This all happened at the beginning of my shift at work today and I had three hours of swim lessons. To say the least, I didn't really want to be there at that point. All I wanted to do was go home and do nothing. Fortunately, I was able to do that after my lessons were over. Shortly after I got home, I was also able to talk to A online for a little while. That always makes me feel better, especially since it had been a couple days since we spoke. Then I took at nap. Once I got up, my roomie and I went and got ice cream for dinner! Definitely didn't make me feel better as far as health but boy was it delicious :-) Now it's time to try to get some sleep. Unfortunately though, every time I close my eyes I just picture what happened earlier today. :-/

Drive-In Movie

Alright ladies (and gentlemen if there are any!) ~ I completed a first for me last night.

Yes, I had NEVER been to a drive-in movie before. However, I went to one last night with my roommate. It was so much fun. There is this new drive-in place out in the country about 30 minutes from where I live. They have double features and it's VERY reasonably priced. We saw Marmaduke and Eclipse. And yeah, I know I saw Eclipse already...but I had been wanting to see it again, so why not do it when I can see another movie also, and the price is cheaper than one movie at a theater. Anyway, if you have not been to a drive-in before and have one nearby, I strongly recommend that you go. It's a blast!

I Want it Wednesday

A message, a phone call, just something, anything from A to let me know he was ok...

...and I already got it! :-)
I woke up this morning to an email from A. I hadn't heard from him since the end of last week. Of course I kept telling myself "He's doing fine and just very busy right now" but it was hard to convince myself of this. I didn't want to call or contact his family to see if they had heard from him at all because I didn't want them to start getting worried. Especially since I really did think it was just that he was busy. But again...hard to convince yourself! As expected though, he is perfectly fine, except for having a lot going on that has kept him from the computer or phones. Hopefully I'll get to actually talk to him sometime later this week. But if not, oh well..."He's just doing his job and very busy!" Right?! :-) I just have to not think about what his job is then which is keeping him busy. Oh well...I'll get through this. Only 5 more months (or s0!).

Sorry that this post is basically me convincing myself that he's fine...but sometimes it's easier to write than just think. Hope you are all doing well! Have a wonderful week.

4th, Freedom, and Fireworks

Happy (belated) 4th of July all! I hope that everybody had a fantastic day spending time with friends and family. Thank you to those of you who are fighting for our country and to those who stand behind these brave men and women. I know that I am so proud of you, A, for doing what you do. I miss you like crazy and can't wait to spend this holiday together next year!

Feeling Sick

Well it was a great night with friends and family. Went and saw a great band and fireworks. But started to just not feel "right" towards the end of the night when we were hanging out at a friends' house. So I just got home, took my temperature, and I have a fever of 101. OOPS!! Therefore, I am off to bed and hoping it has gone away by the morning. For some reason I doubt it. Really wishing that A was here right now to take care of me and make me feel better. Just glad that I have awesome friends and family who I know will do that for me since he's not here. Good night all!

ECLIPSE!

I went to the midnight showing of Eclipse on Tuesday night with two great friends! It was absolutely amazing. I had read the book and was nervous that I would get frustrated with the movie. There were a couple things that I felt like they left out and that they emphasized a couple of things too much, but it was still great. It definitely got the story across. I thought it was the best movie so far. I can't wait until Breaking Dawn!

I Hate This

Here it goes...and if you don't want to hear me vent then don't read. But you can all probably relate so that's why I'm writing.

I Hate This! What you say? DEPLOYMENT!!! AHHH. It's just getting to me right now. Probably because I've just started back in classes so I'm extra busy and stressed. Therefore, not having A to talk to whenever I want just sucks. I hate it. I want him home. I want him sitting here next to me right now. I just want him back. I feel like when he left in December it was hard...but now that he left after R&R it has gotten harder. It was such a tease having him home for 2 weeks. We had a great time together but I hated having to say good-bye again.

With the way his work schedule is right now, we figured out a couple days ago that the best time to talk is when he gets up for the day and I am off to bed (or half asleep as it was last night!). So I've just been leaving Skype up on my computer when I go to bed and he calls when he gets up. It's been great getting to talk to him and see him before I go to sleep and I've been able to sleep better for the last couple days. That of course has been nice. However, last night I got on facebook at the same time as talking to him and was looking at pictures. When we decided I needed to get some sleep and he needed to get to work, we got off Skype. He also was on Facebook so I sent him a chat message letting him know that I love him! At that point we talked on there for a couple more minutes and I started crying. I dunno. He was saying the perfect things and all but I hate it. I am just glad that I was able to keep those tears in until we got off Skype. I miss him so much and can't wait for him to get back. I'll be fine and get over this funk I'm in right now. But I still HATE IT!

There's my rant for the moment. For those of you who read this...thanks! I'm sure many of you can completely understand.

YAY for Awards!

YIPPY!! I got an award. I haven't gotten one in a while. I received this award from Rachel at Romancing Rachel. Thanks hun for the award! So now I have to tell you 10 things about me and then pass it along to 10 other wonderful bloggers.

10 Things About Me:

1. I have been in school for 20 years of my life. (And for 2 of the years that I wasn't a student in school, I was teaching!)

2. I have lived in 2 different countries, 3 different states, and 3 different cities in the state which I am currently living in.

3. I cheered for 8 years and for three of those years, I was on 2 teams at once (school and all-star competition teams). And when I was on 2 teams I was not driving yet...therefore my mommy had to drive me everywhere. (Thanks Mom for all you've done for me!)

4. A and I have been dating for almost 2 years. I miss him terribly and can't wait for him to get home! (Unfortunately that won't be happening anytime soon)

5. My favorite food is spaghetti. I could honestly live off of any short of carbs and water. (And yes, I know too much carbs in not good for me.)

6. Since A left for deployment in December, I lost about 5 lbs. While he was home on R&R, I gained 3-4 of it back. OOOOOPPPPSSS!!! So now I need to work extra hard to lose it again and lose an additional 10-15 before he gets back. :-)

7. My puppy is 2 1/2 years old. If not for her, I'm not sure if I'd be able to get through this deployment. Yes, I have a great roommate and great friends and family.

8. I sang in chorus throughout middle and high school. I miss singing.

9. I found out about my first teaching job only a month after graduating with my bachelors degree. I kind of miss teaching, however, I am enjoying being a student again and glad that I will be able to complete the program in 2 years since I'm in school full time.

10. I just cut out soda completely. Up until about a week ago, I would have 3-4 sodas per day. This past week I started cutting back and would allow myself 1 soda a day and today I went without one and didn't get a headache. :-)

And the 10 fab bloggers which I would like to share this award with are:
Carmen at We See the Same Stars
Whitney at Everything Happens for a Reason
Kayla Sue at In Every Good Love Letter There's a Soldier and His Girl
LMC at 'cause I don't know how it gets better than this
Lisa at must be doin' somethin' right
Miss Jody at Miss Fancy Pants
Field of Dreams at Mrs. Z's Field of Dreams
Life of an Army Wife at The "D" Word
Steph at Watching Airplanes
Doc's Girl at Issued to a Soldier

Back to School

I have only been out of school for the spring semester for a month and a half and I am now back in classes again. I am taking two summer courses. One started today and the other will start on Monday. Oh boy! :-) Gotta love being a student. HAHA. I actually do (in a way) because at least right now, while A is gone, it is keeping me busy so that I don't sit around a think too much. Because, I definitely think TOO much. The joys of dating a guy in the military. As far as school, I guess that I should just be glad that I didn't have to take any classes from May to June so that I was able to spend all of A's R&R by his side. It may have been nice if I could have taken a class then and just take one now...however, I would not trade the moments that I got to spend with A for anything. Now it's off to bed for me so that I can get up in the morning for class...Yes, that's right. You read that correctly, class...tomorrow...on a Saturday. YIPPY! (I REALLY hope that you hear the excitement/sarcasm in my voice while reading this!)

So Proud of Him

(The two of us after the ceremony)

(A with his parents, sister, and BIL)

The last night of A's R & R he was promoted. He was officially promoted as of June 1. Since his BIL is an officer in the National Guard he was able to conduct the ceremony. It was so great being able to do this with his family. Nobody in his family or myself were able to be at his last promotion. Therefore, it was really cool that we all got to be there for this. :-)

Yankees Game!

(Us at the game in Baltimore!)

A is a Yankees fan. So guess what I got him for his birthday present?!?! Yes...that's right! Yankees tickets (at Camden Yards in Baltimore!). We had SO much fun. It was a fantastic game. The weather was great and our seats were AMAZING. We had Club seats just to the left of home plate. It was just crazy ridiculous. I knew they were good seats when I got them, but had NO idea how good they really were. Not only were the seats good as far as location, but we were right near all the private boxes. Therefore, we had waiters and waitresses coming around taking food and drink orders. We had AC when we went to the restroom or concessions. It was just crazy. HAHA! Definitely not something that I could afford if we went to Yankee Stadium for the game. And plus we were going to be in the Baltimore/DC area anyway so it made sense. I am so glad that we were able to attend this game together!

Baltimore

(Here we are at dinner overlooking the Harbor!)

We went to Baltimore for a couple days. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We got to enjoy the National Aquarium and walked around Inner Harbor. Tomorrow I'll write about the excitement of that night :-)

Happy Father's Day

(My brother with our parents at his graduation in May!)

Happy Father's Day daddy! I know how proud you are of both of us, but I hope you realize how proud I am to be able to call you my father. I would not be who I am today if you and mom hadn't raised me the way you are. You are a wonderful example for me. You have always been there for me (even when I asked you to watch Coyote Ugly with me at age 16!) :-) Thanks for all that you have done for me and will continue to do for me. I love you very much!

We Went to a Wedding

I figured that for the next couple days I would post pictures of A and I from R & R. Here is a picture of us at the wedding of one of his college classmates. It was great getting to meet some more of his friends and their wives. We had a great time! So glad we were able to make it to the wedding since we have not been able to make a few over the past year.

(He was tickling me and I couldn't stop laughing!)

A Long Drawn Farewell

(Jewels and A on one of our road trips! Jewels loves to drive)

GRRR!! I didn't really get into the details/specifics of my frustrations last night in my post. Well that would be because A didn't leave the states until this evening. Therefore, I couldn't explain what was going on until he was actually gone. Yes, that's right. I said goodbye to him yesterday morning at 10:15 AM and he didn't actually fly out of the US until about 7 PM today.

AHH Makes me so angry. Oh and he was supposed to leave yesterday at 6 AM. His flights got all kinds of messed up. We had gotten a phone call from Delta the night before his flights to let him know that one of the legs of his flight was canceled. Therefore he had new flights for getting into Atlanta. He was supposed to fly out at 9:30 AM. We got to the airport and the flight was delayed until 10:15 (ish). Now, of course it was wonderful getting to sit with him for a little longer, but it felt like it was just more painful. I kept building myself up for it being 6, then it was 9:30, and then it was later than that.

Once he finally flew out, the second leg of his flight was also delayed about 45 minutes or so. Therefore, he got into Atlanta late and missed his flight out of the states by 15-20 minutes. So he ended up being put up in a hotel and then he flew out tonight. Of course I was glad that he was in the states and out of a war zone for an extra day. However, I absolutely HATED the fact that he was in the states and I wasn't with him. It's just frustrating. But I did get to wake up this morning to a phone call from him. And that was amazing! So there's my frustrations right now. And I just can't believe that he is now on his way back to Iraq. I know that I'll get through it but it REALLY sucks!

Wishes I Could Sleep for 6 Months

(Waiting at the gate for his flight. ~ I look pretty horrible, but oh well. His flight was supposed to be at 6am, so we had gotten 3.5-4 hours of sleep and it was freezing so I didn't wear the dress I wanted to wear!)

I just got back home after driving for 12 hours. I unfortunately had to complete this drive after taking A to the airport so he can head back to Iraq. Yes, that's right...R & R is over! STINKY!

Now with having a 12 hour drive after this, I had A LOT of time to think. (Now please don't get offended by the way this might sound or whatever, especially since I'm working on 3.5 hours of sleep!) I feel as though I just "returned" A to the United States Army. They basically own him (definitely for the length of the deployment) and I got to borrow him for 15 days. However, I have to return him after that time is up. But, what if I don't want to return him? I don't usually return clothes, etc. that I want to have. I only return if I don't want an item for some reason. So, since I want him here with me right now, can't I just keep him?!?!

I know this was probably a ridiculous analogy, but it's what I got to thinking while I tried to stay awake and get home. So, now that I got home, I am off to bed with my puppy (instead of A) by my side! Missing him like crazy already. Can't believe it will be an other X (wish I knew for sure the number) months before I can hold his hand and kiss him.

Happy Birthday A!

Happy 25th Birthday baby!

I am so happy that we've been able to spend this day together for the past 2 years.

We had a bunch of people over to his parents' house yesterday to celebrate his birthday and his being home for R & R. It was an absolute blast. Cooked out for lunch, played some yard games, built a fire pit in the yard as it got dark (until it started to downpour on us!), and then played some Wii games til we were all ready to crash. And today we are just doing stuff with his family! He just went out with a couple of his friends for lunch and then we'll be heading to a movie and dinner with his parents, sister, and BIL.
(Here he is being a dork when we were playing Corn Hole!)
Overall it's been a great R and R so far, I'll write more later about what we've been up to! Hope you are all doing well.

And a message to Expat Girl over at The Sand is Different Here ~ Stay strong, we are all here for you. I cannot imagine the heartbreak you are going through with saying goodbye to Mum and then Mr Soldier. However, I do know how strong of a woman you are and I know that you can get through anything. And I'm here for you if you need ANYthing at all!

R & R Has Finally Arrived

Yep that's right! I have had A home for about 24 hours now. I can't believe it. I keep grabbing his hand or touching his arm/leg to make sure that he is really here. YIPPY!!! I'm just so happy and giddy right now. So anyway, don't be surprised if I'm not posting much. Sorry that I didn't post since last week when I said this was coming soon. I was just having trouble finding something to write about. Well I love you all and I will post soon with pictures! :-)

I Want it Wednesday! (R & R)

Yes that's right...I want R & R to be here now!

Well it's coming soon and I just can't wait. I have some special things planned for us and then the rest of the time we will just have some fun and spend time with his family. I'm really excited! I haven't been able to post this week because all I want to talk about on here is him coming home! AHHH!!! I'm so excited. It feels so unreal that it's getting so close. So don't be surprised if I go MIA (again...I know!) for a while. But, I will try to post some pictures and stuff when possible. For now, I will just have to find SOMEthing to blog about. :-)

Such a Beautiful Place!

I haven't had a chance to really sit and post yet since we got back from my brother's graduation last weekend at Notre Dame. So here I am looking at pictures from the weekend. It is such a gorgeous campus and I feel like anybody who gets a chance to visit should take the opportunity. (and if you can go and make it to a football game you would be NUTS not to go...cuz that's an absolute blast!)

Here are some outdoor photos of the campus:

(The Grotto~ You can light candles for people and pray.)

(Above is Our Lady of Lourdes and below (just beyond the fence) you can see Bernadette looking up at her)

(The Golden Dome atop the main building on campus)


(The Basilica)

(The top of the Basilica)

WOW~ It is just such a gorgeous campus and a beautiful place to walk around. I will post pictures of the inside of the Basilica later. It is quite the site to see.

Military Wives

This pretty much sums it all up so I thought I would share...Nope I'm not a military wife (yet, at least!) but I definitely can relate to all of it. Hope you enjoy! And to all of you out there who are moving or waiting, or for that matter...doing both, good luck and remember that you are NEVER alone!

Military Wives

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house;
Moving curtains that won't fit;
Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!
They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS;
Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands;
his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has a HEART and a love for her husband,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way