Cut Backs Suck!

So once again, my life has become too cluttered! However, the internet is not to blame, this time:) I seriously don't know how some of you do it...A husband to tend to, children, pets, house work, laundry, cooking meals, working, college for some of you, on top of maintaining family ties, hobbies, your blogs and whatever else! I'm in complete awe over here...

My new life, as Mrs. G.I. Joe, started out very uncomplicaited and low key, but has since filled up really fast; Or so it seems...I moved to Georgia, on December 29, 2008, two days after our wedding. From then to now, I landed a job as an assistant manager in a well known gaming company, I've taken up blogging and currently follow more then 50 blogs. I added running to my list shortly after which takes up a great deal of time, but is so rewarding and fun, (most of the time:p) We adopted a cat from on post, who was the devil himself in disguise then added Bella a few months later. I had forgotten just HOW needy a puppy can be...PHEW! On top of this, there is the given, my husband who I love to spend time with so I always become distracted from what follows: cooking, laundry, dusting, cleaning, vacumming and anything else I have forgotten...Lets see, theres also maintaining family ties back home. For those of you who didn't know, I come from a family of ten; Seven siblings, not including myself, and my parents. I am really close to most all of them so it takes work! DAMN! my sister Angels birthday is today...Note to self: call sister dear after I finish this post:p Okay, so wrapping this up, I added the BIG under taking of becoming a self taught web designer a few days ago. Well, pretty much, that was the straw that broke the camals back, so to speak. Nothing else feels like it will fit! In fact, I have fallen behind on ALL of the above by just adding web design to my list...I am so excited about it that, that is all I want to do right now...Read my book and do the work...So until I learn to manage my time even MORE tightly, I am sad to say that I had to make an adjustment. My blogging is going to become less then what it was. My goals (because I enjoy it and y'all a lot) is to post AT LEAST once a week. From there I will be making rounds on y'alls bloggings once a week to post comments but continue to follow as much as I can through the week, so I'm not completely lost! I hope I don't loose too many of you over this...Its just until I learn to juggle all that is in my day:) Well I am off to wish Angel a Happy Birthday, take Bella for her second set of shots, run a four miler then study, YAY! Hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Edit: Well double damn! Turns out Angels birthday was two days ago. On the exact day, in fact, that I looked at Robert and said, "Babe, don't let me forget to call Angel in two days and wish her a happy brithday." Gosh, I am a terrible sister...Lol...Good thing she loves me:p

A Big Announcement!

And I'll say it again, " I have a big announcement! But before I delve into that, I should say, "I've heard and read all of your pleas for a deeper explanation as to Bella's (almost) demise and also, about my current mood/thoughts on my sisters up coming wedding. My answer, "I am working on drafts for them both, as they are long reads that need to be written with much thought, and I promise to post them as soon as they are finished:)

NOW, onto the really big news!

I'd wager that most of you know what this book is about, being that we're all bloggers here on the World Wide Web, but the question is, how does it tie into my really big news!?! Well between the years of turning sixteen and up until now, I have been turning stone after stone over in my head, trying to pin point a focus of study that would fit me best. I've toyed with the idea of a teacher, a paramedic and actually did go to school for this, but never finished, and so on... I think most everyone goes through this at some point until they find what they've been searching for. However, for the past few months, under the surface of my everyday life, I've been antsy and prickly feeling like I was really close to the answer yet, struggling with that, just out of my reach type feeling and it was so frustrating; Until two nights ago...One of those well worn stones hit me square in the forehead! After some late night research and a long talk with the hubs, I have decided to pursue a career in Web Design! This stuff just fascinates me, especially writing HTML and CSS. Hence, the ridiculous grin why I'm holding up a book that promises to reveal all. HOWEVER, there is a really frightening part...I am going to become a self taught Web Designer...Ekk! Come to find out, anyone can become a Web Designer/Graphic Designer. A degree is not required to break into these fields, but no doubt, would greatly help! All you need is the patience to succeed, the right software and DIY books. A Mac wouldn't hurt either:p Oh, and my glasses back so I can see again!

Rest assured though, I do have a realistic four year plan mapped out to achieve this. Right about the time Robert and I plan for kids, I should have a solid foundation in Web/Graphic Design right in time to start my next big project; starting my own business! That side of it is still a bit fuzzy as I am trying to focus more on the skills that will get me there, but it is the goal I have for the finish line:) If any of you have input about this plan, or thoughts and advise on where to start, PLEASE let em rip! At this point, I am just trying to collect information about where to begin i.e web design? Or, get a solid footing in graphic design first as they both greatly correlate.

FYI: This post is very watered down compaired to my excitment and reasons for wanting to be a web designer, but I'm not wanting to write a book that weighs more than the average human, so I will stop here:) Thank you all for listening and joining in on my excitment, as I know you will! Sleep tight y'all. I'm off to catch a few zzzzz's:)

Good And Bad...

Well once again, I have fell behind on my blogging and commenting! I finally was able to get that darn comforter to dry by stuffing it into the washer and placing it on "spin" cycle. Once most of the water was out, it went into the dryer, but do not fear, I stayed with it the whole time praying that the machine wouldn't explode:p Yes, it came out a wrinkled mess, but that's okay...At least its clean! So glad all of you laughed so hard over my stupidity:)

Gosh, it seems like so much has happened since my last post! Found out yesterday that my younger sister is getting married in October...I do not say this excitedly however...This is such a long story so I will refrain. Took Bella to the pound on Monday only to return home with her after being told that she would be put down that day, due to an over flow of animals...Yeah, that's another long story that I'm SURE your trying to understand seeing as Bella is my baby. I will try to post about that soon. Just know that it worked out after a very stressful night and morning full of tears...Excitedly, my older sister has a love interest, that just MIGHT be interested back after seven months. Too soon to tell though:) Had my $350.00 coach glasses chewed up by my puppy right along with my second phone charger...This is not the reason she was taken to the pound mind you:p managed to build a pretty nasty knot in my shoulder blades which is causing a lot of back pain and neck pain. I'm getting it from my runs I think. I need to focus more on staying loose and agile:p Other then that, not much else to report! My running continues and in fact, I have come to the idea that I need to start building through the week instead of going after 4 miles each run...I hear how a lot of you start off easy then build and build until Sunday where you do a long run...I'm gonna try this and see how well it works!

Tomorrow Robert has PT but then is off for the rest of the day! We're going to see if my glasses can be salvaged first, then we're headed to the beach at Calloway Gardens for some fun in the sun:p I hope you all had a fabulous Tuesday! Tomorrow I plan to make my rounds on everyone's blogs and and beg for forgiveness; I've been gone for too long, once again:( Catch you chica's later;)

Thats Why You Leave It To The Professionals...

Sitting here I'm, really, N0 literally kicking my, rather white, rear end...Today was going to be a day of chores; Having that "good" feeling after getting stuff done that I've had on my mental list for several weeks, and some, even months.

The List:

1. Get my hair cut

2. Wax my eyebrows

3. Get the carpets cleaned

4. Wash/clean out our fridge

5. Wash my car

6. Vacuum my car

7. Have our comforter dry cleaned

8. Make appointment to have birth control refilled

So at 7:30 a.m, all was going well. I wake up to take Bella out, then return to immediately start shoving dining room chairs, coffee tables and end tables in the kitchen, out of the way for the carpet cleaners...I hop into some light weight shorts and a tank, lock Bella and Peanut in the bathroom, then head out with our HUGE comforter, eager to start chopping away at my list. First stop, Sun Shine Dry Cleaners! Five minutes later I walk out, still, with blanket in tow. They wanted $30.00 just to steam away the stains and wouldn't have it back to us for 10 days! Now I do not frequent the dry cleaners, obviously because I still haven't had my wedding dress cleaned, but this just seemed over priced and an absurd amount of waiting time to me. So, NO THANKS! I told the kind lady, I would simply find a laundry mat and was on my way. However, finding a laundry mat in this town is apparently IMPOSSIBLE! Well, no problem...Take a deep breath and think...I've got it! We have a huge tub in our bathroom; surly big enough to hand wash this blanket...Oh yes, you've read right...I took my happy ass into the laundry room, grabbed our bottle of Tide and went to town...Here is the results and don't laugh...

Getting it into the tub was rather easy, but getting it out was a whole different story! Had I taken a minute to think, I might have re-thought this plan out... A king sized comforter emerged in hot water, equals a very heavy figgin piece of material; One that I could barely budge! I am totally telling on myself here, but I even farted a few times straining to get that sopping wet pain in my ass blanket outta our tub! Just imagine me bent over, heaving and gasping and looking very much like a woman in labor...Get the picture?
Me, after I managed to get it into a laundry basket...K, now what? Its full of water and too big for the washer to wring out, so AGAIN I have a genius plan...I drag that basket out onto our third floor balcony and proceed to toss and flop it over the banister...However, immediate problem with this...I managed to create Niagara Falls all over the downstairs neighbors deck, deck chairs and plants....EKK! Luckily nothing was ruined...I checked through the cracks in the floor:p However, not ten minutes after I get it out there, a tasume sweeps through and drenches it all over again! Argh...

Not my brightest moment...But once again I prove true to my nature...Work harder, not smarter:p At the rate that thing is draining out there, it'll be 10 days before it sees our bedroom anyhow. However, reading over this, I am in hysterics and have learned a valuable lesson, so I hope you didn't laugh too hard but just goes to show you, that's why you leave it to the professionals...I need a beer:p

P.S. Thank you all for your very sweet, kind words on my last post. Was kind of blushing from all the praise:) Sometimes I feel like Robert is never home to be a good wife to, so its in things like this that I try to show him how much he's loved and how much I care. Ya'll are too great:)

Reenlistment...

After work tonight, I swung by Ft. Benning to drop dinner off to Robert because he had CQ again...Bummer... But in all honesty I could kiss him; You see, the hubs actually volunteered for another one just so he could have tomorrow off with me...Be still my heart! Isn't he just a peach:p However, getting back on track...Robert asked me a really good question tonight that I thought would be interesting to ask all of my military followers/wives...This might actually be an easy "cut and dried" answer for a lot of you, but for me it was something to think about...Over the course of eating his Shrimp Parmesan Pasta, Robert and I headed into the whole him reenlisting conversation (again) but this time Robert wanted to know my thoughts on it, and if I could decide whether he stay or get out, what would I choose and why...Hmmmm...I hadn't really thought about this much because I know this is his life and he intends to make it a career, so I never question it... But after some hemming and hawing, I came to the conclusion that even though I hate the thought of him deploying again and I'd love to have him home more, the simple truth is...The Army is where it's at for Robert...He is the type of man that is happiest when he feels apart of something, and the military is definitely a big something...I came to this conclusion many months ago when he'd tell me, there were days that he wanted to go back to Iraq and he truly meant it...Oh yes, I got my feelings hurt over this... I understood him to be saying he'd rather be fighting over there then be home with me. However, I now know, that was my hurt and insecurity thinking, and I dug deep to really see what was behind this crazy talk...This is what I found....Robert, like all the men, want that deep sense of manly belonging and purpose and fighting this war has brought that to them in the biggest way...Lets be honest, this war blends perfectly with our men's makeup and feeds them in a way that we (their women/family) will never be able to. But in saying that, we are what drives our men to stand up and fight, ultimately placing them into the breeding grounds where their nature can relate and thrive...So to give you the answer I gave my husband just over an hour ago, No I do not want him to "get out" and yes I do want him to reenlist. My husbands happiness means everything to me and to encourage him into something I know would leave him empty, is wrong. Robert, has come to the same conclusion, I think, but wanted to hear me say the words "Its okay." I feel he also wanted to give me that voice most of us military wives feel we don't have? Ahhhhh, yet another reason I married this man...So thoughtful and I LOVE HIM! What about you ladies? What are your thoughts on the hubs reenlisting/not?


Robert's new endearment for me is "My artichoke heart." And for some reason it just melts my pee pickin little heart:p Goodnight everyone and P.s. Have all of you been running into problems with commenting on my blog? Because twice I have heard from readers who have been and now I'm curious...Let me know!

Edit: I should probably say that this next reenlistment means life for Robert until he retires, so its a big final decision for us!

Swing Your Partner Round And Round!!!

Well hello everyone! As you can see, my blogging has been more sporadic then usual, and for that I apologize; But what have I been up to? HA, not much, other then running, playing with my dog, spending time with my bread winner and working:p But I just realized I told the entire blogger world about, possibly, getting fired weeks ago then just left y'all hanging! Not cool, and I'm sorry. Things have settled down a lot with that. I'm not really sure whats different but my numbers have been way more attractive so I'm not as worried which is equaling less stress in my life:p So, thank you all for your kind words and thoughts! I think they helped:) For my new followers, if you haven't read my little "job" scare, you can find that post here.


But onto some BIG news! Last post I was really down on my running, however I have since been REALLY encouraged! Yesterday I got out there with my freshly charged Ipod, comfy shorts and familiar shoes and just ran and ran...I finished my two miles flawlessly and I felt great...I stopped, for no more then 1 minute, to drink a bit of water, then thought to myself...Ya know, I think I could at least do another mile...So that's just what I did! However, I finished that third mile without even a pit stop and just kept on trucking until I completed another mile...I AM SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR AFTER TYPING THAT! That totals 4 freakin miles outdoors ladies with only one break for some water...BUT WAIT, here is the best part...I went from running 12 minute miles to 10 minute miles the whole darn way....AHHHHHHHH! Excuse me while I scream into a pillow then proceed to swing my (imaginable) partner round and round...I honesly feel like a 5k is in my near future?????



Robert is on CQ tonight so I am all alone minus our two furry kids...For those of you who have a cat and dog, do they play with one another and if so, is it rough play? Bella is so aggressive with Peanut but then Peanut gets his jabs in there too...I would think if one or the other is getting hurt then they would just quit, but they both come back for more....Robert is getting concerned that Bella is hurting Peanut, but Bella is the one who's always being left with big bloody scratches. I even think Peanut pulled one of her wiskers out because she has a nice little scab where one should have been...Thoughts? Suggestions? We're trying to teach them the word "easy" but its just not sinking in...Sigh...Maybe they'll grow out of it???

As I Hang My Head In Shame...

I'm really kicking myself right now and before you ask "why" I'm going to tell you... I'm ashamed to say that somehow I let SIX whole days pass without getting even one tiny run in! I just sort of fell short on those wonderful days off with Robert and then could never get my engine running again... Ooooooooh, but let me say that, I paid dearly last night... It was aweful...I got home from work at 5:30 p.m., kissed the hubby hello while catching up on each others days then determined that it was time to get back out there. By this time, it was about 6:30 so hubby and I threw on our running shorts and shoes and hopped into his truck for the short drive to my spot. I knew it was going to be rough but DANG! Even before I started, I was sporting a nice little headache and a knee that kept chinking so I was going to be happy to just finish 2 miles, let alone going for more...To top it all off, PMS is setting in by this time and so EVERYTHING was irritating the crap out of me i.e: swinging ponytail that kept hitting me on my neck, sweat dripping down the side of my face, the sound of my gasping for air uneven breathing, the ruts I kept having to dodge, and my need to pee so bad but wouldn't go because of the HUMONGO lizard that was guarding the restroom door....Insert crossed arms and pouty face here...I honestly hadn't been keeping track of how many days had passed, so when I logged my shameful 1.70 miles into Running Ahead, I was shocked when I saw that little graph bar so far away from my last run! I started counting, 1.2.3.4.5....My heart fell at day 5...But no wonder I had such a hard time of it! Wow, I'm never doing that again because I hate how much I hated myself for not running, and ultimately hobbling my progress like this because of it...Watch while I hang my head in shame...The good new is that I learned a lesson that will hopefully keep me on the right track, sometime to come:p Thank you for listening to me bitch moan. I am off to do some sit ups and push ups...Maybe this peace offering will help:p

Loved Every Minute Of It...Sigh

I forgot how much I L.O.V.E.D the movie A Little Princess...After flipping through the movie channels while Robert lay sleeping, I spoted this movie on Encore and was instantly taken back to when I discovered this movie for the first time. Sigh...For those of you who haven't watched it, you should...In my mind, its a classic and I can't believe I don't own it!

So there was that, but onto my WONDERFUL three day weekend with the hubs:p

It started on Friday with waking up and heading to Ihop for some pancakes and coffee...I absolutely love doing this with Robert. We have some of the best conversations over piping hot java and a hearty breakfast. Its fantastic:) After a good two hours spent there we head back to the house for some showers and to grab our swim attire. One hour later we were on our way to Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountian, GA which is about 30 minutes from our place. Let me just say that I WASN'T expecting it to be so big and beautiful! Tons of lakes and rivers with blossoming bushes of every color; fishing, golfing, biking, swimming in gorgeous blue water with a beach, butterfly gardens to observe, and lots more! We actually went there intending to layout and enjoy the beach and sun but got sidetracked by all of the unexpected views and activities:) We still didn't see it all by the time we left but, we will definitely be back especially since military gets in free:p

Back at the homestead, it was late enough to grab dinner so we opted for a delicious meal at O'Charlies...YUM! The rest of the night was filled with fishing in our pond outback, snuggling on the couch and just enjoying our time together...Bella chewed up my phone charger again so I had no phone ringing off the hook, which was sort of nice!

Saturday and Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Friday except on Sunday we attended Robert's bosses wedding...I was sad that we didn't get pictures taken together because Robert was in his class A's, per request of his boss, and I was in a really sexy red and black dress...I'm not sure the name of the style but I just love it:) However, I'm paying for wearing those heels with it today...My calves felt so strained that it cost me my run:( Tomorrow I'll be getting out there for sure...I know I shirked on my blogging duties over these past three days, but can ya blame a girl:p I was having way too much fun with the husby:) But it's definitely time to emerge back into the blogging world when Robert came home all sad because he didn't have a new read at work today...Lol...I hope everyone had a really good time this weekend as well; filled with lots of good food, fireworks and family:) I'll be catching up and commenting on y'alls blogs over the next few days so see you there!

Our Sixth Month!

On June 27th, Robert and I hit six months of marriage! And lordy, is has just flown by! In honor of this landmark, I've decided to post this picture of us both. This was a good day...Here is one of the pictures from that week of our first physical meeting...Four years it took us to finally get here, that when I finally made it, I was so dizzy with excitment! The whole nine days were just wonderful...Definitely memories that I will carry and charish the rest of my life...

However, in this six months of marriage I have been suprised about how easy it is being his wife and he says the same. Life is just so smooth and calm with him. I love how we laugh all the time and play like two very in love individuls...We look out for one another in everything: sickness, health, bad moods or good moods, we're there for each other. Two years ago I would have laughed in your face had you told me marriage would be the one thing that made me happier then anything in the world, but it has...I looked at my parents marriage and was skeptical that anyone could be completely happy in a union like this, but six months ago, there I was entering into one of my own and it was the best feeling...I didn't have hopes of being happy with this man, I KNEW we would be happy...I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop, even though this was very much me, in the past. Instead, I look forward to seeing how much more we'll grow in the future...The thought of being happier then I am now is hard to phatom but who knows...The day will come where we have children and the thought of looking down and seeing both him and I molded inside of a little one that we created, just makes my heart smile... That day, I know, my laughter is going to bubble over while I look at my husband and my eyes say, "I love you."

I love you babe! Here's to six more months of this same good stuff with you...

MWAH!