That Cincinnati Girl

YarnAbound Presents: Simple Stitches @ Etsy

2012-02-08T18:02:00.000-10:00

My new store, YarnAbound on Etsy is now featuring my new line of products, Simple Stitches! They are all handmade scarves by me! I have a few pre-made scarves and am taking custom color orders. Shipping is free within the United States.

Visit my store HERE.

I am working everyday on new things, so keep checking back.

Custom orders are for either cowl or standard scarves. Color requests need to be messaged to me before the order is placed. Once I confirm that I can get the color you want, then you can place your order through paypal. If you have a special yarn you wished to be used, I will gladly take shipped yarn and make which ever you prefer too.

Still Waiting

2012-02-06T19:58:00.000-10:00

Yep, it's been well over a month now and we are still waiting on our house stuff to get here. This is getting really old. I miss my bed so much. I miss my living room furniture, our DVDs.... all my books and especially all of our kitchen supplies. I am sick of having frozen pizza for dinner every single night. We have since chalked up trying to track our stuff to a loss because they don't tell you how to do it anyways. So we are just blindly waiting for the call to come in, telling us our stuff has arrived in Seattle.

Like the new pink and girly blog look? I got super bored and decided to redecorate. I also made a new scarf. And now I am starting on a new project, a baby blanket for baby Luther. My friend Desiree is about 7 weeks along, so I went with a traditional cream color yarn. I figure it will go well with the orange and brown nursery colors she has decided to use.

Sadly, another good friend of mine found out that she lost her baby. We are across the country from her, and I wish I could be there. But she knows I love her and that I am here for her as much as I can be. I hate that she has to go through the loss of a child, because I know it's the worst kind of loss to have to deal with. Lots of thoughts and prayers for her right now.

Well, hopefully we will have news soon on our stuff getting here and I'll be able to post a bunch of pictures of our new house, finally. I have been waiting to take any since it is practically empty anyways!

Screw That.

2012-02-02T13:35:00.000-10:00

Okay... Eff the flute. Yeah, I had it for one day and gave up on it. It's a stupid instrument! So I took it back and traded it in for a clarinet! An instrument I can play right out of the case... easy as pie. Now if only that high C didn't still haunt me like it always did, we'd be golden. I'm working on it. Hopefully, I will rent it long enough to be able to buy it out right after a year or so.

Today, after several suggestions on FB, we went and visited Coupeville just south of Oak Harbor. It has a cute little downtown area with different shops just like Oak Harbor... though I think I like Oak Harbor better. We ate lunch at Toby's Tavern and I found a giant cupcake magnet for the fridge... and some cupcake buttons.... and cupcake lip balm.... There was a cupcake store too... But it was CLOSED! WTF! Didn't they know I was coming???!?!? *sigh*

But we had fun. And on the way home we stopped at the town thrift store where I found a set of two bowls and two matching coffee mugs for 5 bucks. Super cute!

Duh!

2012-02-01T16:45:00.000-10:00

So, here I am, with years of experience playing the clarinet.... I have been wanting to learn a new (similar) instrument for a while now and I narrowed it down to the flute. There is a little music store in downtown Oak Harbor that rents out instruments. What a great opportunity! So, for only $30 a month, I decided to rent a flute today.

It is NOT easy to play. Not in any way. Of course it is better than a guitar or a trumpet.... But not as super easy as the clarinet, not by a long shot. I sound horrible. My scales sound so sad and disrupted. I am gonna give it a try for a few months and see if it gets any better. Let's face it, I have nothing better to do with my time anyways.

My mouth hurts, my hands hurt... I am done until tomorrow.

Fun Filled Day

2012-01-31T12:33:00.000-10:00

We headed out this morning and got Luke registered for his gun permit & paid Forest City (our housing company) the rent for the month of January since we have to do that by certified check... So while we were out we decided to stop for lunch at one of our new favorite little places to eat in downtown Oak Harbor; Valle Azul. It's a mom & pop Mexican restaurant with super awesome food! Since we were downtown already, we stopped at the little local book shop where I found an interesting book on the "sixth sense". We also stopped at the wine and cheese shop, of course I bought my favorite kind of wine, Lambrusco. It is in the fridge, chilling, as we speak!

Of course I had to go to the NEX and get some wine glasses too!

We brought Claire home a brand new rope toy, which she immediately went crazy with. She's such a good girl.

Glad today is going so much better than yesterday!

Annoyed

2012-01-30T18:35:00.000-10:00

I mean, really annoyed. I am just in that mood... where everything people are saying or doing on facebook has just really pushed my buttons today and I want to slap them all. I don't even know some of them, and I want to scream. Remember when it was cool to post everything about your kid(s) on FB? Yeah, me either... join a "mommy" website or something... It also proves a good point that kids are annoying even when they aren't screaming at the table next to you in a restaurant, because they can annoy you via their parents through your FB page.

I think being in the car all day has taken it's toll on me...

I'm pretty much to the point where I don't ever want children in any way, shape or form. The more stuff I do, the more places I go, I realize how much life would SUCK to have a kid attached to it. Fine, I'll admit it, I am all about "me". When it all boils down... I'd rather get the maximum out of everything. Everything = LIFE. I wish to keep mine. Just the way it is. Our house is OUR HOUSE. Mine and Luke's. We have a great dog that we can leave at home for the day and not worry about her... We can go out and spend a bunch of money on ourselves and not worry about anything else. And sleep... oh yes, I get all the sleep I want. If I want 3 new Coach purses, I'll get them. Luke wants a hand gun, so he's getting one. I want more tattoos, so I plan on getting more soon. I don't have to worry about how I decorate my house. I have nice things, it is in NO WAY child-proof and it never will be.

Don't like it? Too bad. Sorry 'bout ya.

Some Things, Some Exploring

2012-01-29T14:48:00.000-10:00

We went exploring to Burlington yesterday... basically, it's where everything is. Like all of the major stores and restaurants. It's a good 30 minute drive away. But we had lunch at Olive Garden, did a little shopping at Petsmart and Old Navy too. So glad to finally have a Petsmart near by, now we can get Claire really awesome health insurance without having to pay out the ass. Free walk-in visits too!

Our car has arrived and we will be picking it up tomorrow! I really don't feel like driving to Seattle and back... spending 4 hours on the road... BOO. But at least we won't have to use a rental anymore.

Our household goods, of course, are still NOT here. It's really starting to piss me off. The car left a few days before we did... our stuff got picked up almost 1 1/2 weeks before we left. How the hell does that make sense??

But we did get our tax return goodies! I LOVE my iPhone 4s and the iPad 2. Luke got his video camera and a box of cigars so far and will spend the rest on getting a gun. Yeah.... a hand gun. I don't mind, seeing as this housing doesn't have alarm systems! So maybe that's the only thing I miss about our place in Hawaii... it had an alarm.

I did get a 4th tattoo the other day as well, this one is on the outside of my upper right arm...

Dark for fear of failure

An inner gloom as wide as an eye

And fermenting

Roiling hate

Death grip in my veins

Unveiling rancid petals

Flowering forth fowl nectar

The space between a blink and a tear...

...Death Blooms

So, I am done for now while they all heal, but I do have two more lined up for my forearm.

It's True...

2012-01-26T17:28:00.002-10:00

Ink!

2012-01-25T18:33:00.000-10:00

Got some new ink the past few days... 3 new tattoos!!

"When shall our sorrows come to an end, Thy joys when shall we see."

All that I wanted

were things I had before

All that I needed

I never needed more

All of my questions

were answers to my sins

All of my endings

are waiting to begin

"Sweet Life"

2012-01-23T18:10:00.000-10:00

Because there is nothing else to do...

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary?

December 20, 2008.

2. When is your marriage anniversary?

March 21, 2009

3. How long have you known your spouse?

A little around 4 years

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?

Hardly a month.

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time?

In Virginia Beach. I went to meet him while he was still in C-School.

6. What is your spouses full name?

Luke Bishop, clearly.

7. Do you have any children?

Yes, A son who is not with us on earth.

8. How many boys/girls?

1 boy

9. Do you have any house pets?

We have 1 dog, Claire. She is a beautiful Beagle

10. Do you own a house or rent?

Military Housing

11. Do you live in the country/town/city?

A small town

12. What are your favorite activities to do together?

He likes going out and doing things, I enjoy staying in with him.

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

Well, we lived in Hawaii, so that's ruined, lol.

But we haven't vacationed anywhere together yet.

14. When did you first kiss?

November 13th, 2008

15. What church do you attend?

We do not. I am Buddhist and he is Baptist (raised, at least).

16. Is this the church you were married in?

We got married at the farmhouse I grew up in. My friend's dad is a pastor and we had him do the ceremony.

17. What town is your current address at?

Oak Harbor, WA

18. Do you work or stay-at-home?

I am a stay at home wife, but I go to school full time, online at Kaplan University for Paralegal Studies.

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

We had an amazing wedding night in downtown Cincinnati at the hotel The Cincinnatian.

20. What was the funniest gift you gave while dating?

He gave me a stuffed horseshoe crab :)

21. How long have you been together?

A little over 3 years.

22. How long did you know each other before you started dating?

About 3/4 of a year.

23. Who asked who out?

I told him I wanted to be with him and I was in it for the long haul, as he was getting ready to be stationed in Hawaii... I told him I would do whatever it took.

24. How old are each of you?

I am 29 and he is 23.

25. Where do each of you go to school?

He doesn't attend school yet.

26. Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?

Infertility.

27. Did you go to the same school?

No.

28. Are you from the same town?

Nope.

29. Who is smarter?

He is better in different subjects than I am and vice versa.

30. Who is more sensitive?

I think both of us are the same, we are tough.

31. Where do you eat out most as a couple?

At home

32. Where is the furthest you traveled as a couple?

Hawaii.

33. Who has the craziest exes?

Definitely him.

34. Who has the worse temper?

Both of us knows how to get pretty pissed off.

35. Who does the cooking?

Mostly him.

36. Who is more social?

He is definitely more out going at first when we meet new people.

37. Who is the neat-freak?

Me.

38. Who is more stubborn?

Both of us. Which makes for an interesting life together.

39. Who hogs the bed?

I stretch out more, but Claire gets all the extra room.

40. Who wakes up earlier?

Depends on the day, generally if one of us gets up, the other does too.

41. Where was your first date?

First unofficial date was Applebee's

42. Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends?

I had more boyfriends.

43. Do you get flowers often?

Not so much. I get to shop :)

44. How do you spend the holidays?

Since we are back on the mainland, hopefully with family back east.

45. Who is more jealous?

Totally me.

46. How long did it take to get serious?

4 days.

47. Who eats more?

Definitely him.

48. Who does the laundry?

I do all of it, but if he is home he helps put it away.

49. Who is better with the computer?

I am a Mac. He is a PC.

50. Leave a piece of advice for other couples.

Follow your heart.

Song For Me

2012-01-21T09:31:00.002-10:00

Dear Self,

I have to block out thoughts of you so I don't lose my head
They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed
Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I'm alone
Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home
There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain
An ounce of peace is all I want for you. Will you never call again?
And will you never say that you love me just to put it in my face?
And will you never try to reach me?
It is I that wanted space

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you

Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you

I'm sober now for 3 whole months it's one accomplishment that you helped me with
The one thing that always tore us apart is the one thing I won't touch again
In a sick way I want to thank you for holding my head up late at night
While I was busy waging wars on myself, you were trying to stop the fight
You never doubted my warped opinions on things like suicidal hate
You made me compliment myself when it was way too hard to take
So I'll drive so fucking far away that I never cross your mind
And do whatever it takes in your heart to leave me behind

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you

Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you

And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave
Kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made
And like a baby boy I never was a man
Until I saw your blue eyes cry and I held your face in my hand
And then I fell down yelling "Make it go away!"
Just make a smile come back and shine just like it used to be
And then she whispered "How can you do this to me?"

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you

Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you.

What To Do?!

2012-01-20T12:30:00.000-10:00

Well bloggies, it's tax return time again! And the husband and I have decided to each take 1,000 bucks for ourselves and use it on whatever we want! So the question is... What in the hell should I do?!

Well, really, I already know. I am upgrading to an iPad 2! So that leaves me with about 300 bucks left. Should I save it? Which I am torn to do... or buy either an iPhone 4 or an iPod Touch? Yes, most likely, Apple will get my entire share of the tax return.

Though I could always use a new Coach purse.....

Remember Me?

2012-01-18T15:57:00.000-10:00

That's exactly what the infertile inside me is doing right now.... jumping up and down and shouting "HEY! REMEMBER MEEEEEE???!?!?!?"

Why? Well, she does that from time to time. Maybe it's because she has been sitting silently for quite some time now and is restless or.... OR.... Maybe it's because everyone seems to be announcing EVERYONE ELSE'S BIRTHS AND NEW PREGNANCIES. Let me think... BOTH. Both reasons. It's bad enough that people have to be announcing their own, but come on!

It's bad when I don't even want kids anymore and this is getting on my nerves, AKA people are getting to be a bit ridiculous with this shit. And I don't ask to be your friend on FB just so I can see nothing but pictures of your baby. Make them their own FB page if it is THAT necessary.

See, I may upload several pictures of my dog at one time, every once in a while, but you'll notice that the majority of my pictures are of MYSELF. And my FB profile picture is of ME. Because if you asked to be my friend on FB, you get me. Not my husband, not an elf or a bike, bear, eagle or monkey...

"HELLO AGAIN BLOG WORLD, REMEMBER ME?!"

(ps. I am stuffing the bitch back down and out of sight again with some xanax... It just hasn't kicked in yet.)

Snow!

2012-01-15T09:03:00.000-10:00

A snowy Oak Harbor.

My first snow in 3 years!!!

Claire's first snow ever.....

She LOVES the snow, big time.

Living In Layers

2012-01-13T09:39:00.000-10:00

Literally. I lived in southern Ohio for 95% of my life. We get BAD winters. I move to Hawaii for 3 years and my ability to adjust to the cold has been shot to shit! I am living in LAYERS upon LAYERS of clothes!

It's only 43 degrees! And it feels like death outside!

But I love it so much here. We got so lucky!

Mountains!

2012-01-11T10:32:00.000-10:00

Here are some pictures from our walk today...

Mount Baker

Mount Rainier

Belated New Year Thingy

2012-01-10T18:10:00.000-10:00

Totally stole this from a friend!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?:
Hmm. I was put on the psych ward for hurting myself...

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?:
I actually don't make any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?:
Yes! And I got to be there for one of the births!

4. Did anyone close to you die?:
Thankfully, no one close to me.

5. What countries did you visit?:
None. But Hawaii is like a different country...

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?:
Making new friends! Especially in our new town!

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?:
Well, our son's due date was very important to us. He would have been due on Aug. 11th. We had a special memorial for him.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?:
Deciding to quit all of our infertility treatments. It was an amazing decision. Life has been so much brighter and less stressful.

9. What was your biggest failure?:
Being unable to carry our son to full term.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?:
Nope, thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?:
Oh, well.... wow. This is a tough one. I am glad to have bought all my Coach purses. But the most meaningful thing is a butterfly ring with two blue topaz and two peridot for wings. They are mine and my son's birthstones.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?:
My husband's hard work earned him a great many things this past year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled?:
Definitely a few friends'

14. Where did most of your money go?:
Shopping. Definitely shopping. Mostly Law books

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
We got orders to Whidbey Island, WA. We JUST moved here too and it is so amazing.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?:
"Who You'd Be Today" by Kenny Chesney

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or more sad?: Happier
ii. thinner or fatter?: Thinner
iii. richer or poorer?: Richer, well, better income.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?:
Go to the beach my last month in Hawaii

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?:
Stressed over our move to WA

20. How will you be spending Christmas?:
We will hopefully get to go to Cincinnati for the Holidays this year.

21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2011?:
I can't say there was anything really embarrassing that happened.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?:
I stayed in love.

23. How many one-night stands?:
really?

24. What was your favorite TV program?:
Archer

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?:
No

26. What was the best book you read?:
Any of my law books are pretty awesome

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?:
I don't listen to it enough!

28. What did you want and get?:
My official wedding rings! A big, fat 1 carat round diamond solitaire for my birthday.

29. What did you want and not get?:
Our healthy baby boy.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?:
Breaking Dawn pt.1 and the last Harry Potter movie

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?:
I turned 29 and I went to lunch with my mom and grandma when I was visiting back home.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?: Giving birth to Harrison

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?:
The more the merrier!

34. What kept you sane?:
Getting to go home for a little over a month

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?:
Hmmm.... I really don't care about them.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?:
I didn't pay as much attention to politics in 2011.

37. Who did you miss?:
Harrison

38. Who was the best new person you met?:
New? My two friends' babies!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
You never think it can happen to you.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"It ain't fair, you died too young like a story that had just begun but death tore the pages all away. God knows how I miss you; all the hell that I've been through just knowing no one could take your place... Sometimes, I wonder, who you'd be today."

The New House Surprise!!

2012-01-10T12:10:00.000-10:00

The entire house was a surprise! We had seen picks and a floor plan, but it was the floor plan for a 2bdrm, 1.5 bath....

OUR HOUSE IS A 3 BEDROOM, 2.5 BATH! IT IS SO FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't do pictures until our things arrive, but oh man, now I REALLY can't wait to get our stuff here! Only thing that sucks, is we have NO curtain rods. LOL.

We are so happy to be here! Claire is going crazy... she really has NO idea what is going on; that this is her new house and it's so funny chasing her around while she is going nuts.

Goodbye Hawaii

2012-01-09T08:51:00.000-10:00

We leave you today, our things are packed and ready to go.

If walls could talk...

Well, my blog says a lot, so the walls aren't necessary.

Coming Together

2012-01-08T09:03:00.000-10:00

All the loose ends are coming together and getting tossed out of the house. It is now literally just our bags, Claire's kennel and the air mattress.

No hangover today, thanks to the excedrin I took before bed last night!

So the plan is showers tonight, then a final load of laundry for the shower curtain, the rug and our towels. I think that's about it for us!

The Last

2012-01-08T00:42:00.001-10:00

It's now officially our last full day in Hawaii. Oh what a time we have had. I have had the best highlights of my life here and some of the worst too, if that makes sense. It's 12.34 am and I am just sobering up from a very drunken day/evening out with our good friend Brice. You know it's a good time when light bulbs get broken while still in the ceiling fan... And being 29 and yelling "PENIS!!" out the barrack's room window is still hysterical. They made me do it twice since I "did it like a girl" the first time.

Now, before all that fun, I was able to get to see the beach one last time with my friend Amiebrae. We stood in the ocean for a bit, then sat on the beach wall for a while in the sun. I also taught her how to parallel park! :D

It was a good day.

Now I shall try to return to sleep and be ready for complete pack day later on during normal day hours.

Our Last Weekend

2012-01-07T05:24:00.000-10:00

Yep, it's here. Our last weekend in Hawaii. In all our 3 years here, not many weekends have gone by without a beer pong party or two. We went to our last one last night. It was kind of sad. 95% of the people that used to be at them are now gone and new people have taken their places. Not that it is a bad thing, but it's one of those military life things, you have to be in it to know it. Not only was it our last time, but 3 other couples were there that are also leaving Monday or later in the week. So it was like one big going away party.

With a lot of drinking. Two beer pong tables side by side.

Blouses.

Like A Stupid

2012-01-06T11:32:00.000-10:00

Like a big stupid.... I got so wrapped up in car rentals and beagle reservations yesterday that I TOTALLY missed all but 15 min of my class!!! I had to go back this morning and take notes, then write this giant summary of the lecture in order to get my points for that class time! I was so mad. I already have to miss my Monday class, as we will be in transit to Seattle when it is going on. I didn't want to have to do TWO summaries!!! Bah!

Also, being stupid, our air mattress went all up and died on us. It is leaking and barely made it through the night before we were sleeping on the FLOOR. Come on! We have THREE nights left and now we have to go buy a new one!

Could be worse.

All Planned

2012-01-05T18:53:00.000-10:00

We got our flight confirmations today! We will be on a straight shot to Seattle. We get there at night so we will be staying at the USO facilities until about 4.30 am when we rent our car. We can't bring Claire into the USO, even in her kennel, so we will have to take turns sitting out in the hallway with her... Stupid, right? I mean, how many military families travel with pets? It's totally ridiculous.

Anyways, the car rental is reserved for 5am the next morning and then it's off to Oak Harbor.... a nice 2 hour drive... I wrote down all the directions from the airport to our actual house, so at least we will know where that is.

Luke asked me if I was relieved. I said I would be relieved once we got INTO our house.

Walking

2012-01-05T08:38:00.000-10:00

And now, we walk everywhere. Our car was dropped off to be shipped last night. We took the NEX shuttle bus up to the NEX to buy an extra suit case and I got a new carry-on duffel bag.....

Of COURSE it's a Vera!!! And she is so pretty! Since we are flying commercial now we can have more than 2 checked bags per person, hence the extra suitcase.

And there is more walking to be done today, both Luke and I need to get our ID cards updated at PSD since he is finally receiving E5 pay. LUCKILY, the free NEX shuttle makes a stop RIGHT in front of PSD!

I washed Claire's kennel bedding and she is all ready to go! Her paperwork is safely tucked away in my carry-on bag along with her sedatives.

I am starting to feel ready. Finally.

Going Commercial

2012-01-04T13:15:00.000-10:00

That's right, we are flying to Seattle on commercial air.

This means Claire will be able to travel with us!!! (for a fee, now). I am so relieved, I just couldn't imagine not having her with us!

Another Hurdle

2012-01-04T09:38:00.000-10:00

Yesterday Luke called the AMC terminal on Hickam to see how everything goes when you bring a dog into the terminal for your flight....

Apparently, a special flight needs to be booked on a special plane for those traveling with animals on Space- A(vailable) flights. Have you put 2 and 2 together yet?

We don't have that special flight booked. Chances are we won't be able to get it on such short notice, even though the people KNEW WE WERE FLYING WITH A DOG when Luke started this whole process. They just told him to show up with the dog when we went for our flight... ERRRRRR.... WRONG.

So yes, it may come down to us leaving Claire behind. It's such a painful idea that my heart actually aches.... Physically, aches. We got her at a very hard time in my battles with infertility and she has been my everything when Luke is always at work, ya know? I raised her from a 9 week old puppy to this brilliant and beautiful dog. It's like, this is supposed to be a til-death-do-us-part thing. Not ending like this. It just can't.

We have become good friends with the couple that adopted Isobelle (Claire's "sister") back when we thought they were sending us overseas. I texted her last night and told her what was going on and if they would be willing to foster Claire and find her a good home if it comes down to it. Luckily, they said they would! So though I am super upset over all this, it makes me feel so much better knowing that she will be in the best of care if things don't go our way.

Claire is my best girl in the world. Please send up positive thoughts for us.

Bye-Bye

2012-01-03T11:33:00.000-10:00

I was thinking about not only are we leaving Hawaii, but we are saying goodbye to our very first house. I know as a military couple we will have many, but you know, the first home is a special one. Totally won't miss the neighborhood, or the neighbors for that matter.

Here are some pictures of our home...

Lots To Do!

2012-01-02T20:04:00.000-10:00

Still.

Claire has her big vet appointment tomorrow to get her Certificate of Health and her rabies shot so she can leave the island on Monday! I hate taking her to the vet... Of course she is one of those dogs that wants to meet and play with ALL the other animals and people in the tiny office waiting room, so she can be really hard to try and get to stay calm in any way. Then Luke has to take the car to get cleaned and detailed because...

Wednesday we say goodbye to our car! I am not crazy about being without a car for 5 days... But we have a friend of Luke's who will be taking us to the AMC terminal when we leave which is super great of him! Of course once we get to WA we are going to rent a car until ours comes in within about a month of us arriving.

I just can't wait to have my things back! And get the new washer and dryer!!! It's all digital and cool. And they are bright red, front-loaders too!

I'll be so happy when we are settled again.

2012. Is Here.

2012-01-01T09:11:00.000-10:00

And this is my first post of the new year. I don't really have much to write about seeing as nothing new has happened in the past 24 hours. Though we did pick up some Japanese plum wine and some Korean Sake (Luke's choice) and hung out with our friend Brice. He and Luke played cards while I played DJ until we went over to another friend's house, hung out, baked cookies and had some frozen cosmos. The guys played beer pong, seeing as I played it the night before, I sat last night out and hung out with some wives. Which I never do. I feel a lot more comfortable around the guys and beer, but it was fun.

I hope I can make some good friends in Washington. I miss my bestie from here. I miss being able to walk over to her house during the week and hanging out with her and her super awesome daughter. Buffalo, NY is a bit too far to walk to now :(

I hope I get to meet some women that don't have kids. It seems like everyone so far I have met on FB up in WA has them, looks like mostly infants. It's not easy to look forward to. To me it's just more things I won't be invited to because I am one of "those" women. Sigh. Maybe people will be different there. I can only hope.

2011

2011-12-31T16:09:00.000-10:00

I wish I had the brain power to think of all the things that happened in 2011. But I do not. Especially with our move a week away. This is why I have my blog though, so go back through my posts of 2011 and then you'll know :)

All I can hope for is decent year in 2012.

And for the world not to end.

j/k

That NYE Post

2011-12-31T05:32:00.000-10:00

Good effing bye to a year full of "should have had, but didn't have... But everyone else did have...". Hello to a newly forming sore throat this morning and what I can only assume is the start of an ear infection. Yay.

And sadly, I know for a fact that I will need a hardcore nap if I even want to think about staying up until midnight.

Even More Ready!

2011-12-30T09:45:00.000-10:00

I have done a few more things, getting ready for our new house in WA. I set up the change of address online with the usps, of course not until the 11th. I also ordered and set up a date for cable and internet to be installed in the house! Now all I need to do is order our washer and dryer when we get there and we'll be set until our house stuff gets delivered.

I miss my house stuff so much! I'd have to say I miss my couch and my BED the most!

So we have this whole wide weekend of nothing to do... Well, Luke has taken over my iPad and is as addicted to Angry Birds as my friend's 3 year old, who literally can sit for over 12 hours and play the game. Claire has taken to laying in her kennel, alone, in the kitchen out of nothing to do. And I am here on the air (hell) mattress, typing to you. Maybe I will play some Sims 3. It's literally all I've got!

Waiting for the 9th

2011-12-29T13:29:00.000-10:00

The pre-inspection went very good this morning! We have decided to pay them to do the cleaning service since it's pretty detailed and I just don't want to do it. The only extra charge we are getting is for the spare room door one of our previous dogs scratched all the way down to the wood on. Apparently, it should be under 30 bucks. Yay!

Now we are just waiting for our leave date. The 9th. It really can't get here fast enough. We are also flying AMC (military) flights to Washington, so we really don't know and won't know those specifics until the days we are getting ready to travel on. Everything has turned out great so far, it just all hangs on our flights.

Empty House

2011-12-29T07:52:00.000-10:00

The movers did their thing and the house is totally empty now. My first night on the air mattress was a rough one. I hate that damn thing! Not to mention, I only have ONE pillow. AND... First, yes, I am 29. Second, yes, I still sleep with my baby blanket. Third, yes, I forgot to put it with our "no pack" stuff. So forth, yes, the movers packed my blanket. This is way not cool. I have never been without it and I don't like it!!!!

Today is the pre-inspection. The walk through they do before they mark down every little damage and charge us out the ass for them. I am not looking forward to what they are going to say today.

Better news... I get my hair cut later this afternoon, which is soooo needed, you have NO idea! Now that, I can get on board with.

The Big Day #1 is here!

2011-12-28T07:40:00.000-10:00

Just waiting for the movers to get here! I hate to see all my things go! No more couches and comfy things! Just a dumb 'ol air mattress. Boo. Limited internet. Boo. A beagle that won't eat her breakfast and really needs to, because she will be in the kennel while the movers are here... Boo.

In other news, it looks like Luke's paperwork is kinda getting sorted out, so we still have a good chance of leaving on the 9th as planned.

We are finally, after 6+ months, getting our E5 pay, which is amazing. I can't wait to get settled into our new place and go shopping again... It's been far too long. And we need to have a belated holidays for Miss Claire Beagle. She'll need all new toys and such for the new house, of course!!!

Hoping the movers are here on time, I have to get going.

Pros and Cons

2011-12-27T13:08:00.000-10:00

Pros to leaving Hawaii:

Getting out of this Ghetto-turned neighborhood. Away from all these hooligan children.
Getting away from the hater Hawaiians
Change of scenery
Change of seasons
Meeting new people, hopefully all good!
Being back on the real US soil.
Just a drive away from home.
Better Housing!!!

Cons to leaving Hawaii:

Packing
Just having to move (blech)
Missing the awesome NEX we have here.
Missing the plumeria trees that smell so good!
Decent ocean water
The best Mall ever (Ala Moana)

The Big Day #1

2011-12-26T10:08:00.000-10:00

Here comes Wednesday! The movers will be here all day packing the entire house away and carting it off to Whidbey Island. I think, and really hope, we have remembered all the little stuff to set aside to NOT be packed away... They want us to do this with all our luggage that we are taking with us on our flight. So we have to be packed like we are leaving the next day. Which we aren't. And we are stuck in an empty house until the 9th of January at the earliest. We are supposed to leave that day, but there is still paperwork being messed with at Luke's work... so we may end up staying a week later and have to bunk at a friend's house. I really hope things go off as planned.

Our house internet will be shut off on Wednesday as well. But I have a wi-fi card from AT&T, so I won't miss school or anything like that. I may not post, not like I do much anyways. Pretty sure no one reads my blog anymore anyways... which is kind of sad, because I'm not the angry, hormonal, crazy bitch that went off on everything anymore. And then there is everyone who has kids now that I'm sure is why I don't hear from them, but I guess that is just part of being on the other side of the fence, which is where I plan to stay anyways.

Day 2 of "Packing"

2011-12-24T13:49:00.000-10:00

Luke got his things packed today... Everything he is taking with him to Washington. So that is finally finished. We have all of Claire's things packed away and waiting too. Holiday fun.

Jealousy

2011-12-22T22:57:00.000-10:00

I just want to not be jealous anymore. I haven't written about infertility in a long time because it is something that I have taken a long time to move on from and decided to just live with it. There really isn't much more than I can do about it anyways, right?

But I still have these times, at least not days, but times when I hear something or read something about a friend and their new baby or existing children and it just really gets to me.

A friend of mine just had her second child. She wrote on facbook today how blissful it was to rock her baby in front of the christmas tree. For some reason, that was so wounding to me. I should have my 4 month old son right now. I should be having these blissful moments too. I deserve them. I am more than happy for all of my friends, and it has taken me a very long time to be okay with everything I have to see on social media or what I get texted every now and again. It's very exciting that my friend Liz is soon to have her baby boy! My friend Donna had hers while I was home last month and I was there when she had him and he is just so precious! My friend Dawn has a 4 month old little girl, we were due the same day, to be exact. And I LOVED getting to see baby Chelsea when I was home, she is such a wonderful and beautiful baby girl. None of that bothered me.

What has been bothering my lately are women that have had babies months ago and are constantly going on and on about how depressed they are. Really? What about my friend that had a hysterectomy? And others like her? You should be over joyed that you have the miracle you have. I lost my miracle before I even got to know him. When I close my eyes at night, I get to see visions of ONE dream I was lucky enough to see him in when I was pregnant. I have a friend that lost her baby 13 days after she was born, and had a very hard pregnancy... What about her? And you are depressed? I just don't get how that can be when you have your babies, in your arms... they are healthy and growing and you get to witness every minute of it, and this time of year is filled with that joy. They will learn to walk and talk and bring joy to your heart every time you get to watch them sleeping peacefully. The rest of us have that one room, that was supposed to be our nursery room, empty and haunting us. Yours is filled.

Think about the others that have to deal with the loss of theirs this time of year, or really, any time of year. It's never the same again. Not for us.

Day 1 of "Packing"

2011-12-22T11:15:00.000-10:00

Okay, technically we really aren't doing any of the packing. But it's all the little shit that I feel I need to have done by myself, small time packing. Just to help the movers...

First, my two check-on bags with all my winter clothes are re-packed and ready to go. Most of them were still packed from my trip home in November anyways. All I have to remember is my small amount of toiletries. They outfit I am wearing on the plane is prepared and sitting on top of my suitcases too. Yes, I am a bit crazy. Since I am on winter break from school, I was able to pack my book bag/carry-on for the move... and I have gotten my purse/shoulder bag packed up too as my other carry-on with all my jewelry, tarot cards and whatnot. Definitely putting my Nintendo DSi in there too!

Claire's bag is packed as well. With a big blanket, made by my good friend Sonja, two gallon bags of food, poo bags and her tooth care stuffs.

I went through the entire bathroom closet, medicine cabinet and under the sink... cleaned it out and taped up all my lotions and put them in gallon zip-lock bags for the movers... Threw out all the half used stuff and put together a little box of barely used bath and body stuff for my friend Meagan who is coming over tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, Meagan and Tom are coming over so Isobelle can have one last play date with Claire before we move. Thinking about not seeing Isobelle anymore is super sad. But I know her and Claire are still like sisters and they will have such a good time tomorrow! Plus, it's a pizza lunch day for the humans!!!

I normally don't make coffee just for myself, but I am already wiped out from all the crap I have done today! And laundry is still going.

Movers and Lunch

2011-12-21T09:37:00.000-10:00

The moving company is stopping by this morning to look at the "inventory" of our house so they have a good idea of what they are dealing with (bless them) come the 28th for the actual pack-out day.

Even more fun, Luke's work is throwing him a farewell lunch at the Dixie Grill today, so I get to go play Navy wife and listen to everyone's stories about my husband and his antics at work. I try not to do this often, not because I am not proud of him, but I really feel uncomfortable around people I don't know or know very well.

News about finding Sundae a home.... She got picked up last night by a super great military family who's 5 year old daughter wanted a kitten for the holidays. She was so excited to see Sundae, it was so nice to know that this little girl was that happy! Luke is still kind of bummed, but I feel totally relieved as far as our move is concerned.

Now I must sit here and wait for the movers....

Military Plans & Holiday Blues

2011-12-20T09:43:00.001-10:00

Never work out right! Luke's re-enlistment paperwork didn't get filed on time so now our move is pushed back by a week. Luckily, we have good friends that are going to house us for that extra week we are stuck here. I just want to get off this island and back to the real USA, lol. But I will miss the pretty plumeria trees here, that's for sure. I worry about the juniper trees in WA because I am allergic to juniper! How weird, right?! So is my mom!

Because of the delays, having our kitten poses an even more difficult travel issue. It would be okay if she knew how to use the bathroom outside for when we stop at the different AMC terminals, but we can't carry around a litter box, ya know? Claire is easy in the department... So we are trying to find a home for Sundae. There are a few people we have asked at Luke's work and are waiting on okay's from their room mates.

Our house is a DISASTER ZONE now, having started sifting through all of our summer and winter clothes... I am pretty much packed up in my suit cases, and Luke is half way there, he just needs to start his sea bag packing. Needless to say, there is very little walking room in our bedroom now. And we are very much considering doing a light cleaning of the house and just paying the cleaning fee for the rest of it. They expect us to basically take apart all the windows and clean them inside and out, when not once in 3 years have they even made an effort to clean the outside of the house as promised yearly. Luckily, it seems that if we take the time to patch up and holes in the walls they will finish them off and we won't get in trouble for them... yay!

As for the up-coming holidays, it really hit me yesterday that this should have been Harry's first holiday season. And it does kind of bum me out. I wish I could be playing Santa for him. I know he would only be 4 months old, but it's a thrill for the parents, ya know? So we decided to not do anything with the move and all anyways. Decorations would just add to the chaos, seeing as we pack out 3 days after. So I think we are going to spend the 25th on the beach!

School is now officially on holiday break until the 3rd of January. I have ALL my work done for my Intro to Law class, so all I have to do is copy and paste my pre-written discussion board posts, attend the lectures and take the vocab & test/quizzes. So it looks like I will be doing the work for my Composition class over break to get ahead there too. The intro to Law work was actually very fun... and I am glad that I am a nerd and read all the different law books on the side, because I was able to do everything without looking shit up!

Anyways, keep our moving venture in your thoughts or prayers, we really need things to smooth out again and in a very short time now!

And I'll Just Keep on Bragging...

2011-12-15T14:44:00.000-10:00

My husband was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal yesterday. It is a very prestigious award, and most other medals above it are awarded to those injured in combat and so forth. It is rarely given to a service member under the rank of E7 (that's a Chief in the Navy) and Luke is an E5.

The Award letter.

The JSCM

The JSCM Certificate signed by the Secretary of Defense.

The New Blog

2011-12-14T19:44:00.000-10:00

I have decided to start a special blog for one year. It's called The Twenty Ninth Year.

Simply, it is a blog that I will keep free of pictures and (try to) write once a week on it, and at the end of the year, I will use blogger's nifty little feature to have it printed into a book.

Feel free to join as a follower, or just read it :)

Oh Holidays

2011-12-12T16:39:00.001-10:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Gift bags. I have the worst wrapping skills ever.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

No tree this year, our big pack-out for the move is a few days after Christmas. I rather not have one at all since I don't celebrate Christmas.

3. When do you put up the tree?

See above.

4. When do you take the tree down?

..........

5. Do you like eggnog?

If it is made well. I don't care for the rum in mine.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?My American Girl dolls.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

We do, but I won't put it up. I don't celebrate Christmas!!!!

8. Hardest person to buy for?

My husband

9. Easiest person to buy for?

Myself.

10. Mail or email Holiday cards?

No cards. Pain. In. Ass.

11. Worst Holiday gift you ever received?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Favorite HOLIDAY Movie?

Rudolf

13. When do you start shopping for the Holidays?

Not any particular time. I just get things for people whenever.

14. Ever recycled a Holiday present?

15. Favorite thing to eat during the Holidays?

Turkey

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

......

17. Favorite Holiday song?

Kiss Me At Midnight by Nsync

18. Travel for Holidays or stay home?

I went home for Thanksgiving.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

neither, tyvm.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Whenever I want!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

The sole focus on "Christmas"

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?

Silver and blue

24. What do you want for the Holidays this year?

I got a 1 Carat, round cut diamond solitaire for my birthday. I think I am good :)

Home Again

2011-12-12T05:24:00.000-10:00

It was so great to be back home with the family, but I am glad to be home with my hubby. Claire was so excited to see me she peed all over the porch and howled like a mad dog! She slept on my pillow next to me that night too.

Yesterday we got up early and had omelets at Anna Millers, came home until the mall opened and then went to the Vera store to spend (basically) the 20 bucks they sent me for my birthday! I got the Little Mandy in Floral Nightingale with a small matching wallet.

It was also my birthday dinner night. We got all dressed up and went to Sorrento's at the Top of the "I" (pronounced "ee"). It was a wonderful Italian restaurant. I had prosciutto and local mushrooms over hand-cut pasta. Luke had some spicy seafood pasta and we shared a quattro formaggio (four cheese) mac & cheese with black truffles. TO DIE FOR. And then we shared a tiramisu.

Oh, and I was given this at the airport.....

Happy Birthday to me!

GOING HOME TOMORROW!!

2011-12-09T10:50:00.000-10:00

Thanks to my grandparents, I was able to book a flight today. I leave tomorrow morning at 8:10!

Had my birthday lunch at Olive Garden with my grandma and mom... we drank more than we ate! They were toasted marshmallow goodness.... so lunch came home in boxes. And now I am watching my mom bake red velvet cup cakes for ME!

I'm going hooooooooome!!!!

4 Hours...

2011-12-08T22:50:00.000-10:00

.... Some light sleep and 6mg of Ativan later, I have calmed down a bit. I wish I had a better way to start off my birthday, everything is just such a mess right now.

For those of you that read my posts a few back, know that it's coming up on CD14 for me and I am still so far from my husband. This might be our one good chance at naturally getting knocked up, this actual weekend. See why I am so worked up now? Why I am freaking out about not being home? That's why. That 24-48 hour window of baby making. So yeah, I kinda need that sperm, no way around it.

uhg....29.

Boooooooo.

29

2011-12-08T18:57:00.000-10:00

And now I am officially in my last year of my 20's. Fuck that dude. This is such a shitty ass birthday as it is, I can't be home with my husband, we had a fancy dinner date planned and guess the fuck what, man? I'm stuck in Ohio. STILL.

So whoopty shit. Happy birthday to me.

New Term

2011-12-07T08:27:00.000-10:00

The new term for school has finally started! My Intro to Law class looks awesome so far! I'm not so sure about my composition class... writing is something I don't normally excel at.

That's pretty much it... I suppose.

I will be leaving on Friday morning, on my birthday, to head back to Hawaii.

Been Ready

2011-12-06T10:53:00.000-10:00

I am ready to go home! I miss my hubby and my puppy so much!

I have had a wonderful time visiting Ohio for the past month and then some. I got to see most all of my friends and family. I got to enjoy Thanksgiving at my grandma's house and it was awesome, we had so much fun! I have had a ton of Skyline, a little Gold Star and La Rosa's Pizza.

I was able to spend a lot of time hanging out and shopping with my mom and had some very fun lunches together and even some tea in the mornings.

But I need to get back into the swing of things since school is starting tomorrow, and if I get the layover in Seattle that I should be getting, I hope to be able to attend my first class of the new term and not miss it! I have a solid 3.85 GPA after last term and I hope to bump it up this time and keep it up.

Pray I get my flight for tomorrow morning!

Sexy Vampires.

2011-12-01T10:08:00.000-10:00

I finally went to the theaters and saw Breaking Dawn with my mom today. It was super good, lots of sexy Edward... but they, of course, cut the movie off at the most exciting part!

Now to wait for part 2... Why do they do this to us?!?!?

This Day In History.

2011-11-30T12:46:00.000-10:00

This day, 2010, I took a home pregnancy test and it came up positive, for the first time ever, at the end of two years of intense infertility treatments.

It looks surreal to me, and quite unbelievable still. It was a huge achievement for us.

Was It That Simple All Along?!?!

2011-11-29T13:32:00.001-10:00

So, if you have been following me for longer than a year, you'll know my infertility issues. We were in aggressive treatments for about two years, I got pregnant and miscarried this time last year....

Before you get excited, I'm not pregnant. But for the first time, CD1 started all on its own today! Yes, I am turning 29 in a week. And this is my first cycle that hasn't been medically triggered.... hence my infertility. What did I do different? Actually, I used my first month of birth control pills in sept/oct and skipped the oct/nov round so I wouldn't be on my period while I was home this month. What the hell, right?! Is my brain finally working with my reproductive system? Not sure since this is a first. But just in case it is, 12 days from now, I will be having sex like a rabbit for a week. Wish my ovaries luck! But we have been content over the last 11 or so months with no longer trying to have kids. We have talked about it and decided that it would just be the two of us... and Claire... and Sundae. So really, I am not surprised that everything changes now, go figure!

In other news, good news, we have a house waiting for us in Washington! This is such a load off my shoulders... especially since we are going to be traveling with a dog and cat! It's a two BDR, 1 1/2 bath with a friggin' garage! I'm far too excited about a garage, I think. Only downside... the house doesn't come with a pre-existing washer and dryer, just the hook-ups (our current house had both machines already).

So, anyone want to give us a washer and dryer? Maybe?? Pleeeeeeease??

One More Week.... Left.

2011-11-26T16:08:00.000-10:00

The month has gone by so fast!

My writing skills are down right now, so I'll write more once I get back to Hawaii I suppose.

Just Remember.

2011-11-22T05:28:00.000-10:00

Someone out there would rather have your problems.

So shut your mouth.

I'm Treading For My Life, Believe Me.

2011-11-21T15:25:00.000-10:00

Mock Packing

2011-11-19T17:42:00.000-10:00

So, be the prepared person that I am, I did a mock pack-up of all my things to go back home with.

Which has doubled. And my second bag is full of law books.

But I did find out that having two checked bags isn't going to change anything too much. But holy shiiiit did I do some good shopping here. One of my personal favorites it the pea coat from Old Navy, which is grass-green, and looks like it's from the Wizard of Oz. My grandma cleaned out her drawers and I got a few cute things from her too!

I got my beautiful butterfly ring with Harry's and my birthstones...

He will always be under my wings, apart of them too.

Shopping Success!

2011-11-17T13:33:00.000-10:00

Oh yes, success.

Cheaper than it was at our NEX in Hawaii.... I found it at Dillards!

I also bought a few things from Crabtree & Evelyn and something special for Luke.

One More Week

2011-11-16T16:10:00.000-10:00

After this week I'll have one more week of school left! I took my final exams today... I'm not thrilled with my grades on them, but I passed and will probably still make the Dean's List.

My friend Donna had baby Jesse on Monday via c-section, as he had gone from breech to transverse in the last week of her pregnancy. He is absolutely perfect and adorable!

Other than visiting friends I really haven't done much else since I last blogged. I did take some good pictures of Cincinnati, but I don't feel like dragging them off facebook onto my blog.

Tomorrow is shopping with my mom and grandma, and having some Cheesecake Factory for lunch!

No Pictures

2011-11-10T14:21:00.000-10:00

I have been such a bad visitor! I haven't gotten any infamous Cincinnati pictures while I have been here! I had a 3-Way from Skyline tonight.... totally didn't snap a blog shot of it either before I INHALED it. I had the chance to take some pics of dwntwn cincy yesterday and didn't do that either.

I have seen a handful of friends, which will double by Monday night... I've hung out with my grandma almost everyday and gone to Half-Price Books TWICE.... TGI Fridays once and Northgate Mall once. Tuesday night I went to watch my friends throw darts, got shmammered and stuffed myself full of White Castles.

And today, when I am totally SOBER, I scratch the shit out of the side of my mom's car.
.....Srsly, FML on that one.

Blood Drive

2011-11-07T14:30:00.000-10:00

When I am driving back here in Ohio, it's like I'm a little red blood cell in my own circulatory system.

I could never see that blood clot of an island Hawaii again, and I'd be just fine.

Air Cast & Crutches

2011-11-06T06:09:00.000-10:00

I gave in last night and went to the new ER in town and had my ankle looked at. No fractures, but it is sprained pretty bad. Being sedentary for 8 hours on the first plane ride DID NOT help it at all. Which is why I couldn't walk on it by the time I got to Dallas. Figured as much. The ankle isn't stable and I keep rolling it, hence the air cast.

Did you know I am the only person that can't walk on crutches? Yeah, I am. And it's hysterical.

Going to grandma's today with my little brother Travis and then doing whatever :)

PS. I had LaRosa's pizza at 3am. FTW!!!

Doing

2011-11-04T17:33:00.000-10:00

What is this Cincinnati girl doing?

Sitting at home, finally, in Cincinnati.

My Friend

2011-11-03T12:15:00.000-10:00

Cheri & Me

NYE 2011, Hawaii

Playing Asshole

2011, Hawaii

When I come home from my visit this month, Cheri and her daughter Coraline will be moved back to Buffalo. Today was my last day getting to see them both. I (hope) it won't be the last time, but it was still very sad.

We'd get drunk, argue and have fights that lasted maybe a few days, or until the weekend came around again. I met her before we both moved out here to the island, we had met through a Navy Wives page on facebook.

Turns out, they got a house in our neighborhood.

We had almost 3 years of wonderful holidays and weekend Beer Pong... Cranium, Yatzee and Phase 10.

Her beautiful daughter Cora came at a time in my life that was very hard for me, one when I wasn't able to have kids and we were trying so hard. Cora has been my blessing. She is a smart child, full of life and love.

They have both been a light when I needed one.

I love you both.

Mama, I'm Comin' Home

2011-11-03T08:41:00.000-10:00

I finally get to leave today! I can't wait to get on the plane and go! After all, I get to travel first class too! Other than the dress code, I'm not fussing. Although, I did change my purse to my awesome Coach purse. ..........

..........

..........

Now I just have to wait until this afternoon when I can actually get off this island.

I WANNA LEAVE NOOOOOOOOW!!!!

Not Leaving Tonight.

2011-11-01T11:09:00.002-10:00

stuff happened and my flight got pushed back. So I might not be home until Friday. I am so tired of being here, I just wanna go.

Semi-Charmed Ass....

2011-10-31T21:02:00.000-10:00

First, I'm going to be honest about the stupid Halloween holiday. While everyone was so blessed (gag me) to take all of your new babies out for Halloween, I couldn't help but think who my Harrison would have been today at almost 3 months old. Yeah, screw you Halloween.

So, I was originally supposed to be on my way to Ohio right now. But I'm not. Which is okay, because the flight was getting full so my friend pushed it back a day so I'd get a seat. Which means I should be leaving tomorrow night. But his entire department got laid off today instead. So I basically have no idea if I a coming home or not.

I have been at my breaking point all day long. I even tried to shop. My rope of sanity has never been in good condition and it is totally unraveled. My brain is unraveled. I am so agitated, all day long, I have wanted to do nothing but break things. Like Greeks at weddings... But I have nothing to break and all this steam and frustration is just building up.

And what is worse than a husband who doesn't know what to say at all???? One who just keeps saying sorry!!!!!! OMFG. <---- makes me want to have a stroke.

Ready.

2011-10-29T13:25:00.000-10:00

Tuesday, Tuesday. I am so ready for Tuesday. I can't wait to go home for an entire month! I hope it snows!! I want a white Thanksgiving, especially since I have to have class that day too. So stupid, why have class on Thanksgiving?? Hopefully I am wrong about that and we won't. I'm looking forward to doing everything, anything that I can.

And when I get back to Hawaii, we will have exactly one month left here!

New Things :)

2011-10-28T17:38:00.000-10:00

Luke and I decided that seeing as we are moving to a cooler climate in a few months that it was time to get some new clothes. Being a guy's guy... he didn't get but 2 long-sleeved shirts. I managed to get some really good deals and got a bunch of nice tops (as I am already a jean queen). So we took out a small personal loan and take care of some stuff too, like replacing his computer (the one that barely lasted a year). He got another hp laptop in hopes it would last like his very first one did. I bought a new blackberry Torch with my extra money, along with a Juicy Couture watch....

I have also been looking at ways to boost my credit so I picked up a small line of credit at Kay Jewelers (HELLO!) and got a proper birthstone ring for Harrison:

And a I ended up finding something a bit extra special online:

Um. 1 Carat Perfection.

And here is a picture of Claire:

"Bitch, please..."

Navy Ball 2011 (belated post)

2011-10-19T11:37:00.000-10:00

I was waiting to make a post about the navy ball until I had the pictures! We had a lot of fun and actually won a $150 gift certificate to a very fancy restaurant in Waikiki (I can't remember the name). It will be my birthday dinner before we leave here.

Awesome.

2011-10-17T09:48:00.000-10:00

Remember that Paralegal Studies paper I was freaking out about?

I got a 100% on it.

Because I'm awesome.

I also got registered for my next term's classes. I am taking a Composition class and Introduction to Law! The two that I had picked out since signing up for school, of course. I have my entire degree plan planned out... all my classes picked.

But I don't plan ahead....

All my work for the rest of this term is done.

But I don't work ahead...

The Pre-Algebra Story From Hell

2011-10-14T11:56:00.000-10:00

I've never been great at math. To me, it's boring and therefore cared little for it. So when I got to high school, I started out in remedial math in the 7th grade. From there I took pre-algebra from grades 8 to 10. YES... THREE YEARS OF PRE-ALGEBRA. Why? One may ask....

Because the school let the GUIDANCE COUNCILOR teach these classes. He was a complete asshole and idiot. Also, he had the power to keep me scheduled in his class every year until I passed with a grade of HIS approval. I usually got a C/D in his classes. It always got blamed on me. And I hated him... every single cell of him. Speaking of cells, I was phenomenal at math when it came to use in science class... Chemistry, Physics... So it's not that I didn't totally not understand math. And to add to my case, once I left that private school for public education, I passed Algebra I with an A/B average. So who was the moron? Mr. Morgan... the teacher from HELL. Come to find out years after graduation, he went to work for my public school district. I was there getting some transcripts and I happened to see him. I wanted to vomit, still, after all those years.

So what am I doing now? Teaching myself pre-algebra. So maybe I can pass my college courses.

Dates Are Set

2011-10-11T17:04:00.000-10:00

Our pack-out date and POV shipping time has been set up. We did it today! Next items of business, getting on the waiting list for housing. Oh, the movers come on Dec. 28th for our household goods, aka the entire house will be shipped off. We are leaving in the beginning of January, flying military style, aka a cargo plane. BUT, they fly our animals for free. Had I known this, I'd probably still have Isobelle, but she is in a fabulous home with more than loving owners, so I can't complain.

I can believe how fast time has gone. It wasn't all fun here. And I'll be glad to get away from this damn island. So WA, here we come. It's all so official now! I just want to get it all over with and be settled.

Ok, Now I am Bored!

2011-10-09T17:26:00.000-10:00

I did all of my school work for the rest of the term (except for the last two of each class). Literally, I only need to attend the lectures and take the tests. I've done most of the reading for both classes, though I will re-read all of it as it comes up in class.

That sucky essay, done.

The essay for my easy class, I finished in an hour yesterday.

Who's got straight A's???

This chick!

Oh I Thought.

2011-10-06T10:47:00.001-10:00

Well, I thought that starting school would give me a ton of stuff to blog about, but it really hasn't. I have one class that's super easy and the professor is great. Then I have another class with a nice professor, but she talks SO FAST in the lectures you can barely take notes. And she was just sooooo nice to give us a RIDICULOUS paper. I was easy, just super annoying.

And it took two weeks for amazon to let me know my order for the APA Manual was canceled because it was out of stock. WTF AMAZON?! Shouldn't you know that BEFORE someone buys something???

blah.

Football.

2011-10-02T10:26:00.000-10:00

GO JETS!

Eff.

2011-09-30T17:58:00.000-10:00

Whoever came up with APA writing style, needs to get hit by a bus. I have two weeks until we have this essay and no one, especially me, wants to do it! It should be a finals type of assignment, I swear.

This how boring I am these days.

Glad to Know!

2011-09-27T18:20:00.000-10:00

I called academic advising today, possibly to get into onto the Bachelor program instead of the Associates... And I found out that the classes I want to take for next term will be a go!

I am not excited about Composition for legal studies or whatever it is called, but I am super excited about my elective... Introduction to Law!!

I'm a total dork, maybe. But I hope it all starts to give me a good amount of challenge.

What A Bust.

2011-09-26T10:09:00.000-10:00

So, I have this class that is grossly under stimulating. It's called Eight Skills of Effective Legal Studies. Not exactly... It's more of study tips, time management, how to best remember your studies, blah blah blah. So remedial I may lose my mind. I've done assignments for weeks to come as well!

I called my advising people to try and get a 3rd course added onto this term. NOPE. It would exceed my financial aid by over $700. Not gonna happen. I am stuck with two classes each term. Now my other terms with math and composition will be far more challenging and I am ready for that! It's gonna be a looooong two years, that's for sure.

Facebook Babies

2011-09-25T10:52:00.000-10:00

Not what you may think... I'm talking about all the "adults" that are turning into some of the BIGGEST babies over last week's FB changes. Really? I think there are bigger things to bitch about.

And EVERY TIME facebook changes, those same people flip out about "FB is gonna charge you now for use...." BLAH BLAH BLAH. They ARE NOT going to start charging people.

If you really are bitching THAT MUCH over FB, GO BACK TO MYSPACE OR START A GOOGLE+ PAGE. Talk about lame... G+?! It's way stupid, just FYI.

Sundae

2011-09-24T20:25:00.000-10:00

This is Sundae.

We named her that because of her coloring, she looks like a turtle sundae.

She really isn't a big fan of Claire...

And Claire is kinda scared of her.

All she does is hiss at Claire.

She is proving to be a sneaky little ninja.

First Class

2011-09-21T10:23:00.000-10:00

It definitely got off to a rocky start... the tech team really screwed up by making 2 overlapping lecture rooms instead of just one. So the entire first 30min was the Professor apologizing to everyone for something that wasn't his fault. And there were students being shitty about it all through the second half of the lecture, so barely anything got covered.

Other than that, I took the first quiz and got an 80% on it. I have finished the reading assignment for this week and next week. [over achiever?]

Can't wait for tomorrow's class. It has a pretty heavy work load though!

Tomorrow!

2011-09-20T16:57:00.001-10:00

I start school!!!! I'm very ready!

Death

2011-09-20T06:13:00.001-10:00

"Death does not bring suffering to loved ones. They themselves are the only ones responsible for their suffering due to attachment and ignorance of those things that are impermanent. "
- myself.

Everything is impermanent, marked by birth, aging, death, joy, sorrow, pain, grief and despair. Everything is in the process of becoming and dying. Mindfulness of Death is reflection on the inevitability of death, that life is impermanent, How to practice meditation and cultivate mindfulness of death? By way of the three roots, nine reasons, and three decisions, according to Buddha’s teachings, as given in the table below.

Once the Blessed One addressed the monks as follows,
"Mindfulness of death, monks, if cultivated and frequently practiced, brings great fruit, great benefit; it merges in the Deathless, ends in the Deathless. Therefore, monks, you should cultivate mindfulness of death.”

How to cultivate and meditate on the subject of death: Maranasati—mindfulness of death
Practising Maranasati helps alert us to the preciousness of being alive and to treasure it by living life well and meaningfully. If we practice mindfulness of death, we will then be more aware of death and develop a sense of urgency in life that prompts us to do good while we can in the time we have before the end comes. We should recall,

“We surely are going to die someday, death is certain, there is no time for wasting… be ever mindful of death while we are alive that death comes atany time, whether in youth or old age.”
We should chant the words, “maranam, maranam or death, death”. This will serve to remind us that we must certainly die someday.

Death is all-powerful. We can never know what diseases or Karma will bring us, nor can we know the time we will die. So the Buddha regularly exhorted, “make haste in doing good”
Practising meditation is a good activity. So do not wait to do good since life is impermanent.
Thus contemplating death, the restless mind will become calm and will be disillusioned with false thoughts and ideas about life and death. In order to get the best results from being mindful of death, it is advised that the following three factors be considered:

1. Maintain mindfulness during recollections of death (keeping the mind fully alert);
2. Have a sense of urgency about death and its inevitability;
3. have a clear understanding (nana) that one is sure to die.

No, it's annoying.

2011-09-19T06:41:00.000-10:00

What is?

Preachy blog posts.

Religious propaganda is so annoying.

(Can't get mad, I'm just being honest.)

2011-09-18T21:34:00.002-10:00

Totally down and bummed out.

Fo sho. Where the hell did my luck go?

2011-09-17T13:28:00.001-10:00

I don't know why I even bother to blog. Really.

It Makes Sense, Right?

2011-09-16T15:07:00.000-10:00

First, I'd like to welcome myself back to blogging... I've been tapped out of ideas to write about lately. Life is boring, probably because I am so used to doing IF cycles. I've been clean since August. LOL! And nothing much has gone on.

I am still very excited yet stressed about our PCS coming up in Jan/Feb. But I can't wait to get back on the mainland AND live near Seattle! The birthplace of Starbucks! Hell yeah.

So why do I ask about making sense? Well, I am starting to try something new. And hopefully it will work. I'm starting birth control. To try and regulate my cycles that are non existent otherwise. So, I feel weird... A totally infertile person being on BC. I know many IF'ers do it, but still. Am I the only female in the world that actually wants to have a normal period? Of course I am still so jealous of the fertiles. I try not to mutter bad things when I pass them, bumps, strollers and all that. Or cursing the baby sections of stores....

I also miss my IF people. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I am so happy for them all and thankful that they have beaten IF, but everything has been tossed out the door. I feel like I am still bobbing in the vast ocean of IF all alone, because it seems like, literally, every blog I follow that used to not be all baby-having, is now overflowing with pregnancies and new babies. It's just way worse these days.

so odd.

2011-09-11T18:27:00.000-10:00

That I should have had a one month old baby boy today.

I like to think that his bright spirit is a month old though, wherever he may be.

Pass the Zanax, Please.

2011-09-06T09:41:00.000-10:00

What's going on, one might ask... too much.

We PCS in February to Whidbey Island, WA. Our current house must be immaculate when we leave or the military housing company will smother us with repair charges. And we have a number of them to do, thanks to a shit head dog we once owned a year ago.... two holes dug into the walls in our spare room and the shit scratched out of the same room's door.... through paint and primer... into the wood!

I have to forms to fax my FA office at school before the end of the week... just found that out today....

Luke's parents will be flying in on the 8th to visit for a few weeks and I feel like the house is a disaster. I know it won't matter to them, but I hate having a crazy house. Not dirty, it's just messy. To me, anyways.

I'm tired.

BING!

2011-09-02T20:19:00.000-10:00

600 POSTS!!!!

I wish I had more of a special blog to write about for this milestone in blogging,

but I just don't have anything.

All I See

2011-09-02T19:25:00.001-10:00

Are bumps and strollers.

EVERYWHERE.

Is It Time?!

2011-08-31T07:04:00.000-10:00

To start school?! I am so bored right now.

Classes.

2011-08-30T15:28:00.000-10:00

I finally got to register for my first semester classes!....

Eight Skills of the Effective Legal Studies Student

and

The Paralegal Professional...

They sound so much fun, right?! Well, I'm excited. And nervous.

I'm also gonna get my monroe re-pierced (3rd time) tonight! Now that is REALLY exciting!

School

2011-08-29T11:19:00.000-10:00

Yep! I am officially enrolled in college. Online. At Kaplan University.

I am getting my Associates in Paralegal studies, for now. Then I will get my Bachelors after that.

Best part is, I'm not paying a dime.... until I stop attending school. My grants and loans cover everything nicely, even books! I start Sept. 22, I think. Can't wait!!

Ah, Sunday.

2011-08-28T18:42:00.000-10:00

Started out great and is ending great.

We went to the commissary as soon as it opened and got lots of food all while staying under budget! Now we have food!

Then it was on to the Sunday Movie Marathon in Bed. We watched the classic pink panther cartoons, took a nap and watched some more.

Pasta for dinner and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the bedtime movie.

Rude.

2011-08-27T19:16:00.000-10:00

Saying one thing and then doing another. It pisses me off to no end.

Who doesn't love getting flaked-out on?

I don't. It's fucking rude. A heads up is always nice.

KAY THNX BAI.

FAFSA

2011-08-26T18:21:00.000-10:00

Although I missed the deadline for classes that started today, I finally got the IRS info in the mail and was able to finish my FAFSA application. Looks like I am eligible for a good amount of financial aid, but it was only estimated. I probably won't find out for sure until Tuesday but I hope to hear from my adviser this weekend.

I don't know what to expect with going back to school. Especially with our move coming up after the new year. Hopefully I will be able to get all my assignments that will be due during the PCS'ing early and get them done here. I can't wait to get started either way.

Everyone keep your fingers crossed for good financial aid!!!