Much better now - and update to list!

So, after venting in my last entry, I felt better...but sounded like a whiny baby. Now, everything's actually better. :)

But first, to the crazy weather. We had a tornado come through town on Wednesday! I wouldn't put an exclamation point after it if there had been any major damage, but luckily, the tornado didn't actually drop in town. Some people I know got some sweet video and pics of it, but I was too busy panicking in the basement of Wentz to really care about what was going on outside at the time. The funny thing is, I had no idea we had a tornado coming until I got home. I'd been busy at work that afternoon, so I hadn't had a chance to check the weather before I left. I heard people talking about tornadoes when I picked up JJ from daycare, but I thought they were talking about another town. I went back to my apartment and saw people leaving...it's usually never that empty after work. Went inside, checked the weather, saw we had a tornado coming towards us and peaced out.

We were able to make it to McDonald's to get JJ dinner and get to Wentz in plenty of time - the sirens didn't even start sounding until 15 minutes after my friend and I got settled in downstairs. We hung out there for a good two hours before we finally headed home. Luckily, there was no major damage (just some roof damage, downed trees and lost power), and nothing else hit that night. I hadn't realized until today just how bad the situation could've gotten, so I'm glad I'm one of those people who takes the weather seriously and bolts when even the slightest hint of something is headed our way. And that was my first real tornado...I've lived here nearly 16 years and had always been through false alarms, but never one that touched down near me. Whoa!

I got my military ID today. I had an ID until I was 22, but I never really used it. Now that I realize the value of Commissary shopping, BX shopping, free gyms and military discounts, I'm more than excited to have it back. Besides, I couldn't really get on base by myself anymore since I had a sticker but no ID. I'm so excited about it, I might actually get up and go to the Commissary tomorrow morning. Maaaaaaybe. :) Now comes the task of getting enrolled in all of our insurances. I wish I could drop mine with OSU; two months' premium for my medical insurance would pay for an entire YEAR of insurance through the Air Force. Isn't that insane?! Note: when doing anything, make sure you know sponsor's SSN, have copy of SS card/marriage license/two forms of ID ready, and have all paperwork in order! 

I get to add another one to my list...my sister and I went to the movies last night for a sister date night (plus our friend Jason). We saw Shrek Forever After in 3D, and it was AWESOME! I got a little teary-eyed at the end because this is the final movie in the series, and they showed clips from the last three movies in the final credits. It was kinda sad...but the movie itself was awesome. It was my first midnight showing (i'm such a kid, i know...i choose my first midnight showing to be a shrek movie), and there were some other people in the theatre...but for the most part, it was empty. We decided to go see it on a whim, and I'm glad - I do NOT feel like dealing with little kids and crowds to see that movie tonight. I'm hoping I get to add another movie to my list next weekend when I go see SATC 2. :)

Things are going better and settling down, thank goodness. This week's been a roller coaster, but we made it through in one piece. I'm looking forward to the weekend so that I can kick back, eat some yummy homemade food, recipe plan and catch up on sleep. AND, next weekend's Memorial Day weekend, so we get an extra day! Yay!

OH! One more thing. I forgot to check off no. 13 in my last entry, which was to get JJ's birth certificate. So glad we have that now!

Enjoy your weekend!

Frustration.

I learned quite a bit today when it comes to my new life in the Air Force. I learned it the hard way, too.

I went to OKC yesterday to pick up a copy of JJ's birth certificates because J went to BMT without it. His recruiter was told a copy of JJ's birth certificate would be obtained before J left since we weren't able to get a copy ourselves, but that never happened. [note to self: definitely should've went and picked the certificates up myself]. So, I got my stuff for my ID/DEERS enrollment, but JJ didn't. Awesome, but no big. So, I get the birth certificates, wind my way to Tinker to get my ID...and, the ID place had closed 13 minutes before I got there. UGH.

But whatever, no big. The lady at the visitors' center gives me the number for the ID place and what she thought the hours were [open from 0730-1530 every weekday], so I called today to see what their hours were. Um, they're only open from 0730-1530 on TWR. They're open from 1030-1530 MF. There goes my plans to drive down Thursday night, hang out with sis and head to base first thing Friday morning. So I ask the lady what I need to bring with me. Two forms of ID - knew. Marriage license - didn't know.

Well, hell. J has our marriage license. He was told to take the original [they already had our notarized copies since that's what J took to MEPS], so he took it. And now, I, living two hours away from the town we got married in, have no marriage license. And there was NO mention of taking my marriage license in the packet of info I got, so I thought I was clear. Yeah no. So, after an hour of wracking my brain and stressing, I called the county clerk, got two copies held, and I'm hoping my mom can pick them up and meet me halfway to drop them off. Note to self: MUST get copies of ALL our birth certificates, marriage license and Social Security cards. MUST.

So now, game plan is to meet Mom halfway, spend night with sister and head to base first thing Thursday morning. Um, the weather's supposed to turn to crap tomorrow. Seriously weather?! Hasn't Oklahoma had enough?! THIRTY-FOUR tornadoes last week, a massive hail storm that caused millions more in damage to add on top of those freaking tornadoes...this is getting ridiculous now! I don't know what I'm going to do now, but I'm praying the weather holds so I can drive down. I HAVE to get this taken care of this week; work won't allow me to get away after this week due to enrollment. I'm stressed out about this, annoyed, slightly pissed...but everything happens for a reason, right? I just hope it all works out so I can get this done. Living so far from the nearest base is a real inconvenience. Sigh.

I'm still frustrated that I don't feel well, too. I think JJ and I came down with food poisoning over the weekend, because we were pretty sick on Sunday. I still don't feel that hot after I eat, and JJ's still a little sick, too. I love my food and hate that I can't eat what I want right now...it's driving me nuts. I couldn't even finish my sandwich at lunch today because I started to feel sick, and I felt sick most of the afternoon. Grrr. I just hope I feel well by the weekend - my mom's making some delicious food, and I want to be able to stuff my face!

I'm hoping tomorrow isn't as bad as my mind's envisioning and that the weather isn't too bad, but I'm not sure that'll happen. I'm sick of weather, sick of driving back and forth to not get anything accomplished, sick of feeling sick...but tomorrow is a new day, and I have faith it'll be a great one. :)

Another book down!

So. I finished my next book just a little while ago:


My sister owns a lot of her books, and I found it in her room - so I took it and started reading it. I'd seen the movie and never read the book, so I was curious to see how true the movie was to the book.

Um...yeah. The movie was almost nothing like the book. I was sorely disappointed, because the book was an awesome read. I'm pretty sure 85 percent of what was in the book didn't land in the movie at all. No wonder my sister said the movie was dumb.

The book centers on Rebecca Bloomwood, a financial journalist by day but fashionista and shopping guru by heart. This girl just cannot figure out how to save and pay down debt. She wants to buy everything she sees, no matter if she needs it or not. The tale weaves through her life of desperation, loneliness, unhappiness...then to peace, acceptance and happiness. I much prefer the book to the movie and am now going to dig through my sister's old room to find Sophie's other books.

I will say that I thought Rebecca daydreamed just a little too much for my liking. She read into everything WAY too much, which is kinda how the last book I read went. Maybe I just don't have the patience for that type of daydreaming, but it made the novel drag on a little bit too long for me. And, I will admit, the daydreaming parts almost made me put the book down and forget about it. But once I got halfway through it, I fell in love and finished in no time. What a surprise read.

Today will probably be a busy day for us. We have some minor Air Force emergency to take care of today, then we'll head on base so I can (hopefully) get my ID card. Both JJ and I were down with food poisoning over the weekend, so I hope our stomachs can handle the one-hour drive (especially his). Hope everyone had a great weekend!

We just got a letter...

Well, we did a couple of days ago...but still. We got a letter from J. :)

It was longer than I thought it would be. When he called on Mother's Day, he mentioned that he's super busy, so I thought I'd get a "Hi, kiss JJ, love you" letter. I got a pretty long letter from him about how basic's going, how his day's going...he said he's the leader of his element, so he's been a pretty bright target for his drill instructors. I'm just glad he's hanging in there - and that I heard from him! I've been continuing to write him every day, and I send out two batches of letters twice a week. The longer he gets into basic, the more proud I am of him. I can't wait until his graduation...and, I'm almost ridiculously excited that I get my military benefits back on Monday when I head to base. :P

Nothing new to add to my list just yet. I'm waiting for my autographed copy of "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin to come in so that I can read that book, and I'll probably head to the Stillwater Public Library on Tuesday to check out the other two books she's written that I haven't read yet. I started reading "Confessions of a Shopaholic," but since I've seen the movie, I just can't get into the book. Sad.

JJ's half birthday's coming up, and I can't help but think about the fact that soon, my little boy will be TWO. I've found myself wondering where time's gone, how in the world my pregnancy and JJ's first year went by so fast...it just doesn't make sense. When I was younger, time dragged on forever. I mean, a year of my life back then felt like an eternity. Now, a year of my life is like the blink of an eye. For crying out loud, it's the middle of May. J's already almost three weeks into basic. It just doesn't make sense.

I have a new "hobby," of sorts, that I've gotten really good at: coupon clipping. The past year, I've wasted I don't know how much money just going into Wal-Mart, picking up whatever and dashing out. Recently, I realized that we've got to do a better job on saving money, so I started clipping coupons. I joined couponmom.com, coupons.com, and I followed a few people on Twitter who talk about discounts and stuff. I quit buying the Sunday paper awhile ago, but I buy The Oklahoman on Sunday just for the coupons. Well, it's been paying off. The first time I actually consciously used coupons at Wal-Mart, I saved $30 (that combined with rollbacks). Today, I had to do another round of big shopping, and I saved $25 (including rollbacks). I've only spent $215 on groceries the past month, and I usually spend $350-$400. It's amazing how much you can save when you shop smart. Granted, I spent more than an hour in Wal-Mart today, but it was totally worth it. Seeing my grocery bill go from $108 to $89 was so thrilling. :)

It's time for me to clean up our place - JJ and I are staying in Stillwater this weekend and have had quite the day together. I wish the weather had been better, because I really wanted to take JJ to the zoo with his aunt, but maybe we'll go next weekend instead. It's been raining and storming all week...it's like spring decided to hit all at once, then the temps are going to jump to summer mode. Just when I thought we'd get an actual spring season this year...wishful thinking!

What a great Mother's Day.

I just realized I didn't write about Mother's Day! Oops. :)

Mother's Day was awesome this year. Last year, JJ was barely five months old, so it was pretty quiet. This year, we did a little more and had fun. JJ woke me up at 8:30 with awesome orange roses and a sweet card (that his grandparents probably helped him get), then we all were up and played around for a bit. Dad left on a business trip that morning, so it was just me, my mom, my sister and JJ for most of the day. We ate breakfast (compliments of ABC), then exchanged presents.

I got my mom, my sister, two of my aunts and me a pair of earrings that I ordered from a breast cancer website. Both of my aunts and my mom had breast cancer scares when I was growing up, and I thought the earrings would be a subtle tribute to them and a way for us to stay connected. My aunts got their earrings on Thursday and loved them; my mom and sister loved theirs, too. I also got my mom her favorite Hawaiian candy and Hawaiian soda, but both of those didn't ship until very late last week. I wasn't too thrilled about that, but at least they're finally on their way.

My parents got me this awesome aquamarine ring that I've had my eye on for a few weeks now. I was so thrilled when I got it...but it's a little too small, so I need to see if I can get it resized so it'll fit on my left ring finger. Here's a shot of the ring from hsn.com (ps. i love it):

I got a great surprise, too...J got to call for the holiday. :) I was hoping he would, but there was no guarantee. But, that night, he called...we talked for a whopping five minutes, but I didn't care. I would've been fine with 30 seconds, as long as I got to hear his voice. It made me feel better knowing he was getting my letters and was doing what he needed to do; I'm so proud of him. I hope to hear from him again soon, but we'll see.

It really was an awesome Mother's Day...even though it was weird celebrating it. Even though JJ's nearly halfway to two, I still feel weird when the holiday comes around. I mean, I spent so many years celebrating for just my mom that throwing me into the mix just seems unnatural. It really doesn't hit until Mother's Day that I really am a mom, that I really do have someone else depending on me, someone who will eventually be calling me Mommy out loud. Mother's Day also makes me realize just how blessed I am to be a mom and how much I love it.

I hope all the mommies out there had an incredible Mother's Day. It's a day that's well-deserved for all of you.

Another book down!

I finished another book early this morning - and I must say, I loved it.

This book is about a woman who loses her happy ever after - and finds a new one. Alice is a public relations goddess, married to an entertaiment lawyer, and the mom of a very grown-up 5-year-old princess. They're settling into their new lives in the Valley when Alice's husband starts to change. He works out. His clothes change. His hair changes. It ends up being no coincidence when all these changes start with the pick-up of his new client, a famous actress named Rose.

Within weeks, Alex is in his own place (saying he "needs time to think"), Gabby hates Alice, and Alice's life is falling apart. This book follows her journey to new friends, new adventures and new men. Although she talks about not liking people who reinvent themselves, that all that are around her. Somewhere in the book, just about everyone reinvents themselves. Alex becomes Xander, her "prince" Jonny goes from crazy papparazzo to refined photographer, Gabby goes from princess to pre-teen (at 6 1/2)...and she reinvents herself as well. By the end of the book, she becomes a whole new person as well.

I'll admit that at first, I didn't like the book. Alice was too whiny and kept dwelling on things that wouldn't happen. I wanted nothing more than for people to come into her life that would make things better and make her see that she could still get her happily ever after another way. As the book continued, I fell more in love with the story - and I was done with it before I knew it. Emily Giffin - one of my fave authors - recommended this author, and I'm glad she did.

Alex/Xander was a classic ass. I couldn't stand him the entire book. I can't stand people who cheat and can't decide what he wanted...he was weak, pathetic and treated Alice like trash. I was so glad when Jonny came into the picture, because she deserved much more than that jerk. Unfortunately, I know several women who have been in that type of situation and can't let go. I've never been through that particular type of situation before, but I've been betrayed by love before. What are you supposed to when something like that happens? How do you move on? How do you recover? At the end of the book, Alice was still struggling with letting Alex go, but at least Jonny was there to help her find her new happy ending.

I'm not sure of this is Irene's only novel, but I plan on reading more of her books. And it feels so good to finally be on a book roll - already read four books this year. That's double what I read last year, I'm pretty sure. I can't wait to start on my next book adventure.

Emotions.

This blog post has nothing really of substance in it. I'm just ranting away here.

I miss him. This is my first weekend at home without him, and it's been a little harder than I thought. I mean, he's been gone for almost two weeks, and I've heard his voice once since he left. I should be able to handle it...but I'm not doing a very good job with it this weekend. Mother's Day is today, and while it's a pretty insignificant holiday in the grand scheme of things, I wish he was here. I know he's coming back and that I sound like a whiny baby right now, but I just really miss him. I hope he gets to call...or at least gets a letter to me soon to let me know he's OK.

My little boy's growing so fast, and it's starting to hit me just how fast he's growing. This will be my second Mother's Day, and I (hopefully) have many more ahead of me, but...the fact that he's almost halfway to two is blowing my mind right now. Just yesterday, I found out I was pregnant. Now, he's this semi-independent little person. Pretty soon, he'll be in preschool, then kindergarten. Time is flying too fast, but I'm learning to appreciate every single second I have with my little man.

Yesterday was OSU's graduation, and I know quite a few people who graduated. It makes me sad that I won't be seeing them - maybe ever again. The fact that my college roommate is moving to New York City, that some of my "little brothers and sisters" are moving away for grad school or to take new jobs...it's blowing my mind right now. I'm not very good with change, and I get really emotional when a big change happens in my life. People leaving my life (for maybe forever) really gets to me for a couple of days. You'd think at 24, I'd be used to those types of shifts, but I'm not. I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to those shifts. I just hope that I get to see those people again and tell them how much they mean to me. A lot of them changed my life for the better.

I guess I'll stop my whining now and go back to reading my latest book. I'm about halfway done and really like it; I'll blog about it when I'm finished. And I'm gonna eat a bowl of ice cream - it'll help get my mind off J.

Two years ago...

This weekend is graduation weekend at my alma mater. I can't believe that another school year has gone by so fast...just yesterday, it was the beginning of the fall semester!

With the Class of 2010 walking tomorrow, it reminds me that it's been two years since I graduated from college. It probably doesn't seem like a long time to most people, but so much has happened in my life during the past two years that it's a big deal. I remember my graduation day clearly - it was one of the biggest days of my life. My dad wasn't there, but my mom, sister, aunts (two of them, at least), fave cousin, husband (fiance at the time) and good friends were there. Governor Henry's speech dragged on forever, but looking back on it, the ceremony as a whole was super fast. Before I knew it, they were calling my name on stage, handing me my diploma cover, and telling me to turn my tassel. I had never felt that much sense of accomplishment before...and it was awesome.

Now that two years has passed, I've had even bigger things happen to me. Two weeks before I graduated, I found out JJ was on his way. Yeah, I was terrified at first, but after getting through the morning sickness (and the glaring from my mom), I was super stoked. That July, I got my first big kid job back in Stillwater, which allowed me to be there for my sister's senior year. JJ was born that December, welcomed Dad home the following February, got married the next month and celebrated a lot of little accomplishments along the way. The fact that I've been a mom and wife for more than a year now just blows my mind. If you'd asked me when I started college if I thought I'd be either of those so soon after graduation, you would've gotten a "Heeeeeell nah." I thought I'd be in grad school, traveling the world and doing big things. Well, I'm grounded now - and still doing big things.

I have no regrets about how the past two years of my life have gone. I have an AMAZING little boy, the most wonderful husband, and a fantastic life. I love my job, I love Stillwater, and I love where my life is going right now. It hasn't been a easy two years, but it's been a fun two years - and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Now that our lives are about to take another turn - towards the Air Force - I'm even more excited.

To my friends in the Class of 2010: Congratulations! You're about to embark on a huge step in your life, and I know that all of you will go on to do amazing, wonderful things. Love you guys!

Late-night blogging

I've got to stop blogging at 2am...but I always tend to fall asleep, get waken up by something JJ does in his sleep, then stay up for a little while. Ugh.

I get to add another to my list - I FINALLY used my crockpot yesterday!

I made beef stew for dinner, and it was SO good. I was terrified that I'd come home, find that I didn't put enough liquid in the crockpot and had consequently set my apartment on fire, but it was perfect! I was thrilled - and am now encouraged to use it more. I've fallen in love with it. :)

My mom read me the postcard I got from J on Monday. It sounds like it's a generic one, but I don't care. At least I got SOMETHING from him while he's gone. I've been really good at writing him everyday and sending letters to him three times a week...I don't expect to hear from him, but I hope he's getting the letters and taking in a little taste of home.

JJ's been super fitful lately. I'm pretty sure he's going through his Terrible Twos already - which isn't bad, since he's not a super bad kid. But he's into throwing things (especially when he's mad or doesn't need it anymore), isn't sleeping all that great, and he's been into throwing tantrums at the littlest thing. I'm not quite sure how to handle it just yet but try to be stern with him when he does something like that. I just don't know if it's getting to him that throwing things isn't nice. On a different note, he's catching on to things SUPER quick.

He knows that keys go into the door and the mailbox, that his comb goes through his hair, that his thermometer goes in his ear, that the water bottle is used to wet his hair in the morning, that DVDs and books go on the shelf...it's amazing how fast he's picking up on things. He's not really saying words yet (which is worrying me, since he turned 17 months yesterday), but he's babbling away and finding ways to communicate to me what he needs. He doesn't have any other developmental delays, and he was a late walker...so I'm thinking that he's a little behind because of all his ear infections. Regardless, I'll definitely be asking about it at his 18-month appointment in June, and we'll see an ear specialist if the need arises.

I'm hanging in there right now. I miss J - especially with Mother's Day coming up - but the separation hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would. It's been really easy to keep busy with JJ around, and J's already been gone a week (and it was a fast week). Work's been slow this week, but with the end of the year coming up (last day is friday), we'll be busy with grade checks and such next week. I had my first performance review at work today and did very well, which was surprising and encouraging. I hope to continue to do well at my job. I'm nervous about freshman enrollment, but I've got great co-workers who have been extremely helpful already. It's nice to be in an environment that's so open and supportive.

I should probably get back to bed. Before I do, I'd like to say that the recent death of a Virginia lacrosse player by a fellow player makes me sick. I can't imagine what that girl felt during her last moments, and I can't imagine what would possess the guy to do something like that. I'm trying very hard not to pass judgement against this guy, but it's so hard when the facts are slowly coming out. I just hope everyone involved finds peace and that the entire truth comes out.

Oh yeah. And Finals Week always makes me glad that I'm not in college anymore. But I'm REALLY starting to miss it...

May already?!

I honestly have no idea where the time's gone. I can't believe it's already May 3rd. Pretty soon, it'll be July 4th, then the start of football season, then the holidays...time just keeps flying by.

I added a couple of more things to my list. I finished another book - I'm on a roll! The book's called "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha.

The book is a list of things that makes you go "Awesome!" I could barely put the book down - it was amazing and always brought a smile to my face. I know I'll be bustin' that book out when I have a bad day and need a smile. He even has a website with more awesomeness.

I also had dinner with two of my best friends from Tulsa on Saturday. Tim and Amanda are two people I met my sophomore year of college. We took financial accounting together, struggled through it, and we've been friends ever since. I was there when they got engaged, in their wedding and have been close to them for more than four years. I adore them and always love when I get to spend time with them. We split a plate of cheese fries at Joe's, had chocolate at Rocky Mountain and talked for literally hours. I'm going to see them in June for a weekend - and I can't wait! I had a blast!

I haven't heard from J yet, besides the phone call the first day of basic. I've written him every day that he's been gone - it's more of an update on our lives than anything else. I'm anxious to hear from him but try not to think about it since I know he probably won't be able to call for a few more weeks. I miss him. A lot. But I just hope he is doing what he needs to and keeping his head on straight.

The weather's been gorgeous the past few days - and it should hold for a bit. Mother's Day is this upcoming Sunday, and I'm looking forward to hanging out at home, giving my mom her gifts and taking JJ for a walk around the block. He's been quite the handful to deal with lately - I think his Terrible Twos have struck early. He's not TOO bad...he just definitely has a temper on him. He throws things when he's upset or doesn't need them, kicks around when he's upset - it's kinda funny to watch my mom with him when he pitches a mini fit, because all she says is, "You and your sister weren't like this. I'm not used to this." Baha. I have nothing to go off of, so I just roll with it and am stern with him when I need to be stern. I hope he outgrows this soon...

Anyway. It's late, and I'm gonna try my hand at the crockpot in the morning. We'll see how this goes!