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!