This thing called life...

...is moving along a lot faster than I thought it would. It's becoming too difficult to keep up!

I really wish I had some fun, spunky update - but I don't. I spent Thursday night - Tuesday afternoon sicker than I've been in quite some time (still haven't quite shaken the cold, but I do feel a lot better), so there goes that. And, life has really slowed down since my dad left and vacations ended. School, however, is gearing up, and I can feel the excitement in the air as the kiddos get ready to go back.

I bet J's feeling the school day blues again right now - he's in the middle of the law enforcement part of his tech school, so he's had a test every week for the past few weeks. J was never the studious type in high school and college, so I'm not quite sure just how he's handling all this studying and testing...I think he's doing OK, since he's motivated to do it, but I don't think he likes it. :) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get to see him in a couple of weeks...I could go 17 weeks without seeing him, but I don't really want to. I'm just glad his tech school's near me and not on one of the coasts.

I feel like I'm sort of in a rut. Like I need to find something to dig my way out of it. It's the same story all the time at home - cook, clean, play, bath, bed. I'm at a loss as to how to keep little man entertained at his age, and I don't want to get him any more toys since his birthday/Christmas are coming up. And let's not even go there about me. I haven't had a night out in weeks. I'm always tired (which is probably how I got sick in the first place), I worry too much so I don't sleep well at night...it's a never-ending cycle. I will say, though, that I finally started scrapbooking. I have tons of papers and stickers, and I've got ideas in my head for JJ's first year scrapbook. I just need to get the pics printed - Shutterfly, here I come!

I need to find something to make this blog more interesting so people will read it. Hm...unfortunately, I bet it won't get more interesting until I move to Colorado and have new places to talk about. :P We'll see!

Update to my 101 in 1001

It's been awhile since I updated my list in this blog...and I've added things to it, so I figured I'd better do an update.:)

I added to no. 65. My sister and I saw Toy Story 3 in June - holy cow. What a way to tie the series together. I should've gone at night, when the little kids wouldn't be there, but it was such a good movie. I cried - three times - watching that movie. I'm not sure what I was expecting for the last movie, but it definitely wasn't that. I loved it though!

I also added to no. 42 in June. During Joe's graduation in San Antonio, my sister and I were driving around, trying to find something to eat. We put in Italian in the GPS, and Alicia picked this place:

She picked this place because it reminded her of Milano cookies, and she likes Milano cookies. Awesome sis. But she made a good call - that place was delicious!

That was my dish - and that was the lunch portion, and AFTER bread and salad. It was so delicious! I wish I'd been able to finish it - during this time, I was doing battle with LaQuinta over a mixed-up room reservation (probably not staying with them for awhile), so I was too irritated to eat it all. It was super awesome though, and sis and I have talked about going back if we ever go to San Antonio again. I only have one more restaurant left to finish that one up! Yay!

And...I finally started no. 67. My best friend M and I went to see Lady Gaga in OKC on July 20, and her show was freaking AWESOME. We were sitting so far up that the few pics I took didn't come out (and my regular camera was sitting at home, gah), but we had SO much fun.

There's me and my bestie M! We enjoyed her show so much that we turned around the very next day and bought tickets to her show in Dallas on 03.14.11 - yes, March 2011. Eight months away. But I don't care, because we got awesome seats. I am SUCH a huge fan of hers now - she's amazing live, her album itself is freaking awesome, and the whole show was great from start to finish. I was so impressed that I started no. 68 and bought my first CD in ages - "The Fame Monster." I've been rocking Lady Gaga since it came in yesterday. Love.It.

I've decided to nix the Project 365 until later this fall or winter. Taking off two weeks threw me all off, and I just don't want to backtrack  that long. So I'm deleting the blog and will restart it once I actually take pictures every day. I have, however, discovered that I love taking pictures and want to take some photography classes. Maybe when we get to Colorado, I'll look into it. I want to get an expensive camera, too, like my dad has - but we'll see about that one.

I think that's all I got for now - I've got less than two years to get this list done, so I'd better get on it! :)

My insecurities will NOT get the best of me.

Over the weekend, J got orders. He wound up getting them switched during the week, so our original orders have changed.

Sometime within the next year, I'll be moving to Colorado.

I'm still really nervous about it...I'm not sure it's sunk in all the way yet (although I've already started making plans, looking at housing etc.). I've lived in Oklahoma for a very long time now and pretty much grew up here. My family's still here, my alma mater's here, my hometown is here...and we'll be moving 10 hours away. I haven't lived more than 2 hours away from them ever, so this will be a huge change for me.

I don't do well with change. I get really anxious about change - to the point to where I've made myself sick over it in the past. Change brings out all the insecurities in me - will I make new friends? How will I adjust? How long will I be there? How will the homesickness be for me? Will I get used to the Air Force life? How much will our lives change when we move? Will I find a job? Get base housing? My mind is spinning in a million different directions about this upcoming move - and I'm probably not leaving for a few more months, at least.

Besides getting married and becoming a mom, this will be one of the biggest changes in my life. I've been looking forward to this move, because it means that J and I will finally, FINALLY live under the same roof and get to start our lives as a married couple with a young child. This long-distance relationship stuff is old; I'm ready to wake up in his arms, come home to him, make dinner for him. The big move is really making me nervous though.

J will report before JJ and I do, and we're still working out all the kinks since we JUST got orders. I just hope that this move will be a smooth one and the one that our family has needed for quite some time. When I push past my insecurities, I'm really excited about this move. I love snow, I've always wanted to go to Colorado, we'll be living near a really populated area, the base seems nice...I feel like this will be a good change for us. Getting to that change - for me, at least - will be the hard part.

Holy lack of updates Batman.

I just realized it's been more than a month since I updated...and it's been quite a month! I'm not even sure where to start when it comes to updating...all I know is, I'm gonna do a better job of keeping this updated.

I guess I'll post a quick update and do a more thorough one later. J is officially an Airman - he graduated on June 24th from Air Force BMT. He lost a good 10-15 pounds...and looks UHmazing. I'm so proud of him!!!

It was so great to spend four whole days with him...it went by fast, but it was good to see him. I can't even tell you how anxious I was in the days leading up to graduation...the 8.5 weeks he was gone flew by, once I looked back at it. Now, he's back at Lackland for tech school and should be finishing sometime in October. We got orders over the weekend, and we're moving to Florida next year. I'm still adjusting to that...welcome to the Air Force!

After J's graduation, I went with my family and JJ to Orlando. That was SO fun. My "little brother" got us into Universal for a discounted rate - and we got to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!

 

    

I have more I could post, but I'll save it for now. All I can say is, that park was AMAZING. I was a little skeptical about how true it would be to the movie, but it was just about spot-on. And Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey...the best ride EVER. I can't wait to go back.

We also got to spend a day at DisneyWorld (for free!).

           
          




I have more I could post from there, too, but I think this post has enough pictures. I can't believe I went to DisneyWorld - it was SO fun!!!! This whole vacation was so much more than I was expecting - and I could actually enjoy it this year. :)

Now, life has settled back in. I'm anxiously counting the days until football and NBA season, I'm nervous about how this whole moving thing will go, and it's hotter than Hades outside. Summer is in full swing, but not for long - school starts in five weeks. Seems like they just got out yesterday! Sheesh!

I'll update my actual 101 in 1001 list later - I've got a few to add to it. I promise not to go so long without updating again!

Oh the life of the military.

I was born into the military. My dad had been in for a few years when I was born, and I spent 19 years of my life as an Army brat. I was blessed to only have moved twice during that time, and that my dad was never deployed. Sure, he was gone a lot because of his MOS, but he was still around. After the Army, he worked at my old school until he got his current position.

Right before my last semester of college, my dad got sent overseas for a year. During that time, I found out I was pregnant, graduated from college, got my first big kid job and had JJ. For the first time in my life, I felt like my dad missed out on so much. Of course, pictures and technology allowed for him to be there more than I ever thought he would, but still. It wasn't the same. Soon, he'll be leaving again, and I can feel the dread building again. J and I want to try to get pregnant again, JJ will turn 2 in December, we may be moving away due to the Air Force...I feel like all the major things that could take my life in a different direction will probably happen while he's gone again. I know that he's doing what he loves, and I support him 100 percent...but it still makes me sad. I just try to keep thinking that one day closer to when he leaves is one day closer to him being home again.

J had Warrior Week this past week - he graduates in less than two weeks now! I've been surprised at how much communication I've had with him since he's been gone. He's gotten to call the past three Sundays, and I've gotten four letters from him while he's been gone. He's gotten all the letters and pictures I've sent him, too. I was expecting to only hear from him one or two times while he was gone, so this whole process has been much easier than I thought it would be. Yeah, I still miss him (a lot), but being able to get letters from him and hear his voice once a week has made it easier. The only bad thing is that he generally calls while JJ's napping, so he's gotten to talk to me but not to our little boy. I'm hoping that if he gets to call later today, he'll be able to talk to JJ - finally.

I'm so anxious and excited about graduation that it's all I think about. Eight long weeks apart are finally drawing to a close...I can honestly hardly believe it. He left at the end of April, and we're already at the middle of June. So, not only has time absolutely flown, but we're already almost halfway through the year. Absolute craziness. I know in the grand scheme of the military life, eight weeks probably isn't a long time - but it's the longest I've EVER gone without seeing J. It's new to me.

My mom wasn't kidding. The military way of life is way different when you're a child and when you're a spouse. When you're the kid, you don't really have any worries or can grasp just what everything means. But now that I'm a future Airman's wife...my entire prospective on things has changed. I feel like I have so much to learn about the Air Force, but I'm not really quite sure where to begin. All I know is, I'll miss my dad a lot once he leaves, but I know he'll come home. And I miss my husband a lot, but we're in the home stretch. I can't put into words just how proud of him I am...but I'm hoping that I'll find some way to show him when I get to see him.

Oh the life of the military. It's fast approaching...

It's all coming together.

The past couple of years have been a little rocky for me and J. Relationship-wise, we were doing OK, but we were struggling to make our married parenthood life work. I mean, when you go from engaged to married with an infant in the span of mere months, things change and move very quickly. Yes, we talked about the dreaded "D" word - but at the end of the day, I love him. I really, really love him. We stuck it out and are doing so much better now.

Now, it's time to balance our lives from the days when JJ was little and money was tight. We're not up in our eyeballs in debt, but I would feel better if we could get the balances down. We are slowly, but surely, getting there - I was able to add to no. 29, which was to pay off another credit card. I've been working on this card for months and had the money saved to pay it off. Every small victory counts, right?

J got to call me on Sunday...it was so good to hear his voice. I miss him and am anxiously counting the days until I get to hop in the rental and head to San Antonio for his graduation. I knew that getting through eight weeks of little contact would be hard, but the last week's been harder than it was at first. I think it's because I can actually count in my head the number of days until I get to see him again, and I'm anxious and excited. He sounds like he's in the right spot and enjoying what he's doing down there - I'm so proud of my future Airman. We should get orders next week, which makes me a little nervous...but I'm ready.

I joined the iPhone world this weekend. I thought I would NEVER say that, but it's true. I ditched the Blackberry, got an iPhone 3GS, and I.love.it. How did I go this long without it?! How did I resist its awesomeness?! I don't think I'll be able to go back after this, honestly. I already have more than two pages of apps, and it's SO easy to use. I've even gotten used to typing on a touchscreen, and I bought it Saturday. I think J's going to get the iPhone 4G that was announced today, but I don't care. I'm happy with what I got. He can have the new fancy phone. :) I think my phone cover will be here by the end of the week, which is awesome. It makes me nervous to not have a phone cover right now since I'm not the best person with phones. At one point in my life, I replaced five phones in a year. Yeah. I need a phone cover.

J and I also joined the Wii world. I didn't want to tell him, but I told him on Sunday when he called. He's excited, I'm excited, and it's about time we got our own Wii. We even got the new black one, which he was REALLY stoked about (of course - he loves having the latest stuff). I think it'll be here at the end of the week. I guess it's time to start looking for games...and asking my parents if we can "borrow" Rock Band...

So, our lives are all coming together. Our son is growing before our eyes, and I think words are FINALLY starting to come to him. J's graduation is mere days away, I think we're doing family portraits this fall...I just feel so content with my life right now. A year ago, I couldn't have said the same thing. I mean, I was happy, but I was stressed. Worried. Not the person I am now. But now that things are coming together and I'm realizing just how great I have it...I'm happy. I'm content. And I'm blessed.

As an endnote: I can also add to no. 60. I finished "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin on Saturday. I couldn't freaking put the book down. It was SO good! I'm going to find "Something Blue" and start reading that soon, and I'll probably re-read "Love the One You're With." I also donated another $10 to ACS through a friend's Relay for Life campaign. I just wish I could be the one to use the restaurant card instead of my sister. :P

Time to update!

I've been putting this blog post off because I just haven't had the time to sit down and update. But now, I'm forcing myself to update - especially since I finally brought my Project 365 blog up-to-date. :)

So. It's June 2nd. Um, where has the year gone?! I know I say that a lot, but I really do mean it. This year just seems to be flying by, lemme tell ya. That's fine with me, because my favorite season is fast approaching (fall/winter)...but now, summer's unofficially here, and I'm so thrilled! I'm not thrilled about the hot temps, but I'll get used to it.

I do have a couple of updates. My sister and I met some friends at a new restaurant on Friday, Cafe do Brasil. I've never had Brazilian food, so I was pretty excited about it (and, it was payday, so it was time to have some fun). I had this garlic chicken, greens, a special mix the make with beans and some other stuff...I also had two mixed drinks, and the whole dinner was DELISH.

Good food, awesome convo, new friends made, photo shoot in the bathrooms with the creepy mural people...it was a FUN night. Cap it off with drinks/dessert at Red Prime Steakhouse and dancing at Skyy Bar (where we got in free!), and it was a really fun night. I needed it.

We're almost three weeks out of J's graduation, and I am SO excited. He called me on Memorial Day and called last week. The more days that go by, the more I miss him - and the more excited I get that we're more than halfway through basic. We should find out our duty station soon, so we'll see what happens after that. I'm really hoping we get to stay close, but we'll see. We'll go where the Air Force takes us. I'm so proud of him - he sounds like he's in right spot and working hard. I can't wait to see him.

I have so many thoughts running through my mind and so many things that have happened, but I'm too tired to recount them. Let's see...enrollment started at work for the new freshmen. It's been fun, but exhausting. I'm getting better at this whole making dinner thing, I'm now a coupon diva that doesn't go anywhere without my coupon bag (I took a pic of it and put it on my Project 365 blog), I love having the ability to go to the Commissary again (i went on post three times last weekend just because i could)...things are going well right now. I love it!

Summer's in full swing, which means the BBQs, the vacations and the hot weather have settled in. I'm hoping to hit the water park soon and maybe have a dinner party - but we'll see how things go. Right now, I'm honestly focused on making it to the end of June, when I get to see J again. Did I mention that I miss him tons?

Hope everyone had a great, safe holiday weekend! Hellllllllo summer!