rock city lights

So one of the things I wanted to do when I was home was go to Rock City and see the Christmas lights. And Emily’s family goes every year, so I asked if I could tag along, and my sister wanted to tag along as well. So here are pictures…

Syd, Kynlee and Me

Kynlee insisted on walking, she was so cute :)

Emily and Me – she’s my bestie

Syd and Me in front of the Gingerbread House

Kynlee, Emily and Me

Syd and Me, she’s going to be 12 in Feb, and I just can’t get over how grown up she looks…

This picture is a lot nicer than some of the ones I have with her from my last visit, she was not a fan of me in March, but this trip, she adored me, melted my heart….I miss that girl

They really should put a step behind there for that top slot, LOL

Vacay, thus far

I have an album on facebook called “Christmas in Dixie” – thought that was fitting since I’m in the south ;)

Here are some things I’ve done so far!

Dinner at the Atlanta Country Club with my Grandfather and Aunt and Uncle.

Decorating the tree with my brother and sister

I’ve eaten at Chick-Fil-A twice so far, and I’ve spent lots of time with Kynlee!

Baby sitting Kynlee, going to make cookies later!

Decorating the tree with Emily’s family, it was quite eventful, the tree fell on Becky, her sister!

Also got to spend some time with the LT’s family, this is his little cousin!

Christmas Vacay

I’m leaving Hawaii and coming to Ga/Tn next week, will be there until the end of Dec. I’m super duper excited. I can’t wait to see friends and family. I hate that the Lt won’t be able to join me, but soon he’ll be home, soon!!!

I am going to have to work on Christmas cards soon. So if you want one, email me :) I’ll put this out on FB too so, I have most of the family’s addresses, but if you want one and are a friend, let me know.

New design & Thanksgiving

First, since it’s the most noticeable, I’d like to introduce you to the new blog design. I had Brea at Utterly Chaotic Designs make one for me, my friend Jane had one made, and I loved hers, so I thought, why not, plus, this MIGHT give me motivation to blog more. She gives a military discount, because she is also a military spouse, and I will be going back to get my other blog redone as well. I loved this one so much. Plus, I really enjoyed chatting with her, and getting to know her. She was so easy to work with, and she was just always SO nice to me. And she is quite fast! I definitely recommend working with her, not just because she’s awesome and nice, but because her prices are probably some of the best I’ve seen for a blog design!

Thanksgiving was good. We had SO much food, and ate WAY to much. But we had a great time. I tried to do some Black Friday shopping that evening, but the crowds were just TOO much! So I did my Black Friday shopping from home!! Didn’t get much, just a few things I’d been wanting, and some things the LT wanted. A friend told me about how I could get a really nice Keurig for REALLY CHEAP, so I of course bought it. I saved close to $80 on it. And I ended up getting $30 Kohls cash, so I’m going to buy some K Cups with that!

I’m going to have to wait to send the LT’s Christmas boxes out because I’m waiting for a few things to come in, and I’m so scared they’re going to be late. I know he won’t mind, but I care. I just don’t want them to be late.

Holidays

The Holiday season is fast approaching, and it will be our 1st Christmas apart…I’m going to go to the mainland for a couple weeks.

I’m not looking forward to much this Christmas, but spending it with family and good friends that I haven’t seen in a while will be nice, but not spending it with the LT won’t be fun either…

But once we get past the Holidays, we are just THAT much closer to his home coming. Which I am so looking forward too.

Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day to all those who serve, have served, who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and those on the home fronts.

“Land of the Free, because of the Brave” - Francis Scott Key

A special thanks to my husband and my grandfather for their service. I also have some other family members who serve, so thanks to them as well!

Memorial Day

I’m celebrating the fact that my husband, although deployed, is safe and sound.

I’m thinking about the ones we’ve already lost this deployment. And their families.

I am thankful, so thankful, for their sacrifice and that of their families.

Don’t just remember these families and the ultimate sacrifice their loved ones made on a day like today, but every day.

You have the ability to speak freely and live openly because of what these people have given their lives for.

MilSpouse Friday Fill In #42

(click the picture to participate)

Do you think civilians, in general, understand the meaning of Memorial Day?

I think they get the jist of it, but I don’t think they’ll fully understand unless they lose someone in a war. Not that I’m saying they don’t care, just that they wouldn’t have the same feelings about Memorial Day as a military wife or a service member. I know it means more to me now than it did before I was married to my LT!

What are your plans for the Memorial Day Weekend?

Just hanging out, might cook out, I do want to go see the Lanterns, but I’m not sure if I’ll make it there. Maybe go to the movies. Hopefully hear from the LT.

What skill/talent do you wish you had? submitted by The 3 Turners

I wish I were better at painting and more creative. I’m pretty creative, but I’d love to be able to paint a picture or something.

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? submitted by I Married Into The Army

Uhm, well, I guess the chicken. But I really don’t know why…

What is the best thing about your post (base)? The worst? submitted byRandomly, Robyn

Well, the best thing about my post is the fact that it is in HAWAII, and there is a beach in any direction you drive out of it.

The bad part about my post, at least where my house is located, is the loud neighbors and the dogs who bark NON STOP. Oh and the fact that my husband isn’t here.

Salute Battery's and New Years

Today the LT was in charge of a salute battery for a LTG's funeral. Here are some pictures on the 25thID Flickr page. Everything went pretty well, they only had one misfire, out of 15 fires, not to bad, but I don't know much about it. HA! Anyways, I thought I'd share the pictures here, there are a lot of them, and there are some of the LT, front and center, even though they're wearing the Greens they all look great!

I can't believe it's the end of year, and on top of that, it's the end of a decade, a whole 10 years, and that just makes me crazy to think. 10 years ago I was getting ready for second semester of freshman year, and I never even imagined I'd be married, let alone a birth mom and an Army wife. I couldn't be happier with the way my life turned out. And I can't wait to see how the next 10 years go!

We're going to ring in the new year with our neighbors, one of our neighbors is home on R&R, and another's parents are in town, so it should be a great time! We're going to have lots of food and great conversations and just a lot of fun. I'm certainly looking forward to it!! I found a recipe for Red Lobster's stuffed mushrooms, so I'm going to give those a try, the ones I made the other day were alright, but I just didn't really like them. And I might make the cheddar bay biscuits, and I will be making Chicken Divan...it should be GREAT!!!

Happy New Year ya'll!!!

It's Official

Today the LT became the 1LT, I got to "pin" him, it was pretty neat. I'll upload the pictures later, but I just wanted to say congrats to him, and the other LT's who got promoted today as well!! Even though the promotion to 1LT is practically a "give me" it is still a big deal, so I'm very proud of the hubby!!

Next up, Thanksgiving break, Christmas leave and then NTC....and what we're most looking forward too, March leave when we can come home and visit friends and family!

Happy Veterans Day

Just two reasons why I love Veterans Day! My retired LtCol Papa and my LT husband!

So today is Veterans Day, and thank goodness the LT doesn't have to work after all. We were going to make it work, and it was just going to be like any other day for us, but I'm so glad that he actually gets his 4 day weekend! They work so hard, they deserve some time off. So, thank a Veteran or anyone else in the Armed Forces. They do so much for us, and they are probably the most under appreciated people. 

We are going to go dress shopping tomorrow, I need a dress for the ball, and then I'll need another dress for something in January, so I'm going to look for both, and the LT said he'd go with me! I think it will be an adventure, and I don't want to go alone. Hopefully we don't end up hurting one another, lol...and we can just go on to Chili's afterward for an early dinner. I am NOT looking forward to trying on dresses. I keep complaining about my weight, but I've yet to do anything about it. It's just that I'm so unmotivated, even though I have so many reasons to do it. I just can't seem to make myself do it. I weigh more than I have EVER, and I just hate it. So tomorrow is going to be hard. I may stop eating for a few days a week...only kidding, slightly...

Hope everyone has a GREAT Veterans Day! Be sure to thank a Veteran or someone serving our country in the Armed Forces!

So thank you Papa and LT, I love ya'll so much!!!!

Veterans Day

I realize my layout says 4th of July, but it was too darn cute, and I was having a hard time finding patriotic layouts, I really didn't look to long, but oh well...I think this one is great, and if you've noticed the siggie has changed because 2LT will become 1LT on Nov. 23rd, so I figured I'd go ahead and make the siggie resemble that, besides, the site is THE LT and the Mrs....anyways....onto what I came here to talk about...

So Thursday is Veterans Day, and the LT is suppose to have a 4 day weekend, but he'll be pulling Brigade Staff Duty, which means he'll be at the Brigade ALL day and even spend the night there...I had to take his Dress Blue pants to be hemmed today so he would have them on Thursday, we've been putting that off for a while now, but it's good we're doing it now, because we'll need them for the ball in December, and then again in January. Since Thursday is a holiday he has to wear a dress uniform, which is why I took them to get hemmed.

Someone told me Chili's is doing a free meal for soldiers on Thursday so I'm going to see if I could possibly do the order as a take out order and take him dinner, and maybe the guys he's working with...Outback is doing a free bloomin' onion Thursday. I'm hoping one of those will last more than just Thursday so we could maybe go out Friday evening.

So, Happy Veterans Day ya'll!!!

Block Leave

Hey ya'll!!

So, next week starts our Block Leave, it's a block of time when we take leave as a Battalion. You have to use leave you've saved up though, so most people won't be able to take the whole amount of time off, but they should take some time off. We're only going to take about a week. We're going to Maui from July 6-July 11. We'll be there for my birthday and we're gonna do it as a birthday/honeymoon celebration. It should be a lot of fun. I am totally looking forward to it, as I'm sure LT is looking forward to it. And I'm hoping that since it will be Block Leave, and most of the people will be gone that he won't have to work as much as if it weren't a leave time.

Block Leave is usually given in the summer and around the Christmas holidays, as well as before and after deployments, for those wondering. We will have leave again in December and are going to TRY our hardest to come home. It just all depends on money and how much it'll cost. It is super expensive to fly from here to the mainland. But it isn't as expensive to fly from the mainland to here. Which is weird, but who knows. We haven't really figured out how we're going to split our time on the mainland, it'll be hard, and we won't be able to stay for very long, so we're thinking a few days with his family and a few with mine. We just have SO much to fit in while we're there, that someone is bound to get upset with us. But really, there just doesn't seem to be a way around it. And anyone who knows me, knows that I hate disappointing people, or hurting feelings. I try to accommodate everyone. But it'll be ok, and I hope that us being there for a short amount of time will be enough for everyone. And we're probably not going to do gifts for people, since it's going to cost so much to get home. Again, hopefully that will be enough.

So, just thought I'd update ya'll alittle. I will be posting pictures from our trip to Maui when we get back. I also have some pictures from when we went to the USS Missouri...it was pretty neat, it was HUGE!

Hope all is well!

1 yr ago today

One year ago today the LT graduated from College and commissioned into the US Army as a 2LT! One year ago today, we officially started our journey to Hawaii. Sure, we knew we were going to Hawaii before this, but his graduation and commissioning solidified it. It made it more real, if that makes sense. I wish I had some pictures to show of his graduation and commissioning, but I'm not sure where they are.

I forgot that today was his "anniversary" until he said something last night. I felt bad, it was such a big day for him, and I guess I didn't think about it because we have so much other stuff going on, and I've been sick. But he wanted to go to dinner, so we went to Cattle Company because he wanted steak. It was SO good! I was a little bummed, because I thought we were going to Outback and I was kind of wanting a blooming onion, but we got shrimp cocktail instead, and I got a really juicy, cooked to perfection Filet Minon. OMG, that steak was SO good! And I got the onion rings, those were good too. And their bread, to die for. I felt so bad for eating it in front of him, because we think he might be lactose intelerant because he's had some symptoms, so we got him some pills, and the first two days you have to not eat dairy. Wow is that hard for him. I feel bad for him, but only one more day! :) Woohoo!!

Anyways, just thought I'd update ya'll, and write about his 1 year anniversary of sorts! I am very proud of him and he's come a long way. He's learned a lot, and there are some things he wishes he had done differently, but that is how life works, you learn from your mistakes, and short givings and move on.

Happy Easter

New Years

We had a very nice New Years Eve at home. We watched TV, Steven played video games, I played Sims 3. It rained, but that did NOT stop the locals and others in our neighborhood from shooting off fireworks all night. And I'm not just talking about fountains and sparklers, but the big kind. We could see them from time to time outside our window, but the good ones we wanted to see were blocked by the big tree and houses. I wanted to watch the ball drop, but seeing as there is a 5 hour time difference we missed it.

I woke up feeling pretty icky Thursday. Figured it was just a bladder infection, went to the store and got some stuff to help. But by Friday I wasn't feeling any better, and we decided a trip to the ER was in order, since we weren't sure where a quick care type place is and it's TriCare - didn't want to end up paying an arm and a leg. So we drove to Honolulu to Tripler - the locals call it the Pink Palace on the hill because it is pink and on a hill and big. I have to go back on the 7th and will take a picture, bc it is quite ridiculous. Anyways, we got there and waited and waited, and then got back and the doc said it was a bladder infection, gave me a prescription and I was on my way. Well Saturday I woke up really early due to severe pain on my left side. It didn't occur to me until after we decided to go back to the ER that it could be kidney stone. I should have known to have them look on Friday when we were there, since I have a history, but I wasn't in pain there. But bladder infections do occur with Kidney stones. Anyways, we went back on Saturday they hooked me up with an IV and some pain meds. They did a CT to check for a stone, and I have one in my left Kidney that is 4mm in size. I haven't ever had a problem passing a stone, so the doctor sent me on my way with another medicine, pain pills and a nausea med since the pain was so bad. The doctor also noticed that I was coming down with a cold. I feel better kidney and bladder wise, but man my head is killing me and I'm conjested.

Steven is doing well, no health problems, and he has been such an amazing doctor! I'm so lucky! He is actually at the mall, his sunglasses got broken on his way to Hawaii from the airline, so he went to buy him a new pair. The sun here is pretty intense. I am hoping to get me some prescription sunglasses soon. I didn't feel like going shopping, so I've been here watching a House marathon. Steven called a little while ago and should be home soon!

Just thought I'd update ya'll! Hope everyone had a better New Years then we did!

Merry Christmas

There are 2 more presents now under the tree. The bag is Steven's "stocking" and the red one is from my grandparents in Virginia, and the big one is mine! The two that aren't under there here are for Steven.

I fell in love with this in Khols when I found it, we also have a mini snow globe that has the same "N" in it.

A glass ornament I got from the coffee I went to a few weeks ago.

We found this at the PX Monday, we have some other ornaments but since we don't have hooks, we couldn't put them up because the string wouldn't go through.

Anyways, we miss everyone back on the mainland and wish them all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as well.

We love you and miss you.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are very thankful for our family and friends. We love you guys!

Spending the day apart has not been easy, but it's apart of the Army lifestyle, so we just go along with it. Luckily we will get to spend Christmas together, which I was afraid we'd miss as well.

One week tomorrow and then Mandi gets to join Steven! We are both very excited about this!