Being a Better Wife

Help me take action against recent MyCAA changes!

2010-09-22T22:18:00.000-04:00

Hey all you milspouses! Help me take action against MyCAA changes! Under the new MyCAA regulations, many of us are excluded from tuition assistance! Take action! Just click the link and send the pre-fabricated letter to your senators and represenatives now!

YOU can forward this prefabricated letter (or write your own) to YOUR state senators and representatives RIGHT NOW!!!

I am writing to make you aware of a recent Department of Defense ruling that severely limits military spouses' eligibility for the wildly popular Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program.

MyCAA was enacted in 2009 authorizing up to $6,000 for all servicemembers' spouses to enroll in a wide variety of educational, licensing, and credentialing programs to help offset employment disruptions caused by military-ordered moves.

According to a July 20 ruling that will take effect October 25, 2010, only the most junior servicemembers' spouses will be eligible (E-1 through E-5 in the enlisted grades, warrant officers in grades W-1 and W-2, and officers in grades O-1 and O-2).

Ironically, this ruling effectively disenfranchises the very spouses whose civilian careers have been most disrupted by military-ordered moves -- those of second-term and career personnel.

I believe longer-serving spouses deserve fairer treatment and urge you to work with the Senate to address the program's fiscal constraints in a more equitable and appropriate way.

Simply click on this link:

http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/alert/?alertid=15910501&type=CO

Do me a favor?

2010-07-28T23:15:00.001-04:00

Click this link about 20 times?

HA! You thought I was joking...

no really. I'm serious.

Click this link about 20 times.

PLEEEEASE!!!!

It's the link to our new website and the more clicks I get, the higher up the list we go when you search for "Liberty Gymnastics" on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

So, seriously. Please click this link 20 times.

THANKS!

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-07-28T11:05:00.001-04:00

<center><ahref="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com/"target="_blank"><img border="0"alt="Better Wife Wednesday"src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

YAY! It's Wednesday!! :)

So, I had the WORST. DREAM. EVER. this morning.

Not as in, like, a little bad, but bad as in I woke myself up BAWLING crying and SCREAMING and my sweet Durango dog was nudging me with his nose as if to say, "mom! it's okay, it's just a bad dream!"

Thank goodness the hubs wasn't home or he would have come barging in the bedroom with his glock in hand ready to kill whoever was clearly torturing me.

So what was this awful, terrible, no-good dream about?

I dreamt that I had just bought my annual pass (a couple hundred dollars or so) to play in this soccer league. And we had had a few practices, and we were playing in our first game. And I was running and I tore my quad. (This ACTUALLY happened to me about two years ago... the tearing the quad part. WORST pain I have ever experienced.) Anyway... so tore my quad... they take me to the doctor... little old lady in a red jacket (who says we don't dream in color?!) doctor tells me I'm going to have to go in to surgery to have the muscle stitched back together to speed along the recovery since the fibers were already stretched from the last tear... blah blah blah... and she takes me into this room with this GIANT machine and starts strapping me onto this little bed/table thing. And I'm thinking surgery like on TV and they have you count backwards from 10 with the mask on and the patient gets to like 8 before they pass out...? No. Throw in my wisdom tooth pulling experience HERE and of course they're not going to put me under in my dreams! So this arm thing lifts me up to the top of the giant machine, which I now discover is a GIANT SEWING MACHINE with a GIANT NEEDLE!!! (cue giant fear of needles) And then this thing starts jabbing my leg, WHILE I'M AWAKE and SEWING my quad back together FROM THE OUTSIDE! (cue shrill screams and agony, although I am not actually feeling any pain at all) Thank GOD I woke up!

So, I'm really not sure how my mind comes up with this stuff... but please note the theme of fear and anxiety in that dream.

I was even feeling anxiety over the couple hundred dollars I "wasted" on the soccer season since I obviously would be out for the rest of the season...

So first thing I did when I woke up was make sure it was Wednesday so I could think and write about something else. Something happy and wonderful about Being a Better Wife. So I walked on over to my "Better Wife Shelf" (a special shelf on our book shelf with all of my marriage books) to see what I should write about today. When I spotted a book that was given to me by one of my wonderful and wise friends! :) (Thanks Abigail!!!)

Now, I'm sure you've heard of Bulletproofing Your Marriage. Well, this is not quite the same idea.

Abigail gave me this book when the Hubs deployed. And I ate it up. I was done with it in two days.

This book is about "the making of an invincible mind." Basically, it's about all the things we are scared of. (but from a military/war perspective) And God's idea about us living (or NOT living) a life of fear.

Now, I know. You are totally wondering what any of this has to do with Better Wife Wednesday...

Let me quote a little piece from the book and then you will start to understand.

"That's what this book is all about. About risk and why we shun it, but shouldn't always do. About true safety and security that extend far beyond the brief candle that is this lifetime and reach into the endless years of light and true life in the presence of our Savior. Throughout history, this understanding has enabled men and women to be willing, even joyful, when enduring hardship, uncertainty, pain and death. From their examples, I can learn to be a more elite soldier for Christ. And so can you."

This week, in Better Wife Wednesday, I am talking about how our fears are holding us back from being the wives that God wants us to be. About how, in the midst of deployment, we can have faith and peace in God rather than experience heart wrenching fear and anxiety. About how our peace can be contagious and a beacon of light to those around us and even our husbands and our families.

For the most part, I am really not a worrier.

Those people that worry all the time (sorry if that's you!) kind of drive me a little nuts. I just don't like to worry! Nothing against you, just personal preference and family upbringing. When I was little, my parents were definitely not worriers either.

My mom had me memorize Matthew 6:27 when I was like 6 years old.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

And it turned out to be a theme in our family.

And, the way I saw it, a strength.

Especially for my mom.

If she had worried about me as a kid as much as any normal mom might have -- I was a bit of a terror and pretty fearless when maybe I shouldn't have been -- she probably would have gone gray a LOT sooner! I played with the boys and I had my fair share of injuries... sprained ankle from jumping my bike off the portable ramp at the school down the street, rusty nail through my thumb while building our tree fort, rusty nail through the foot from running around in a water fight in the neighbor's back yard, fractured and dislocated jaw from "catching" the baseball with my face...

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16

God has got our backs.

If God wants something to happen, it's going to happen no matter what we do to try to avoid it. (Think Jonah)

God's got the plan!

The biggest thing for me when the Hubs was deployed was knowing that truth. That GOD has the plan. And it did me NO good to worry. I was able to stay calm and keep the important things in mind while others around me were overcome with fear and anxiety that was eating them alive. And the hubs noticed. The best thing I could do for him was not to worry. And to show him my faith in our living and awesome God through my calm in the midst of the storms.

We can be better wives every day by keeping our calm and keeping our faith in our Awesome God. We can train up our children (as my mom did) to also give our fears and anxieties to God.

On our honeymoon in Hawaii, the hubs wanted to go snorkeling. I kept my chin up and gave it a try, but failed and gave in entirely (tears and all) to my fear of putting my face under the water. I let one stupid little fear hold me back from something TOTALLY fun with my hubs on our HONEYMOON! To say the least, it ruined our day. Had I given that fear to God, we could have entirely avoided that riff in our weekend...

Want another example? When the hubs first deployed (before Abigail gave me this book) he was scheduled to be the Battle Captain and stay in the TOC. I couldn't have chosen a better job! He gets to stay in the tent and not get shot at! WONDERFUL! Honey, just stay in that tent! But a few days in he told me he was going to volunteer to go "out." I'm not going to lie. That thought scared me. WHY would you leave this nice 'safe' tent and go out where there are IEDs and crazy guys who want to kill you!? I exploded in fear and got mad that he wanted to volunteer when he was married now and had a WIFE to come home to!! (How selfish of me right? Gosh I feel awful for those thoughts... Please forgive me...) My fear and anxiety were holding my HUSBAND back. My fears weren't just binding ME, they were binding HIM!

What fears do you have that are holding you back from being a better wife? They don't have to be plausible fears like needles or spiders... they may be something deeper like a fear of rejection or fear of getting hurt or fear of being laughed at or fear of losing someone you love.

Check out THIS website listing all the types of phobias. I was going to count for you... but I gave up at 90 when I wasn't even to the letter C yet.

Well ya know what? There are 366 different places in the Bible that tell us specifically not to be afraid. That's one command for every day of the year -- including leap years!! The only thing we are commanded to fear is God himself.

This week, I want you to join me in working on those fears. Choose three different verses on fear and write them down and post them around where you will see them the most. And then I encourage you to go buy Bulletproof by Chuck Holton and read it. Let's bind this fear and anxiety and live freer, happier, and more faith filled lives supporting and ENCOURAGING our husbands, rather than worrying and fearing and holding them back.

Wherever you are going, God is already there.

2010-07-26T12:23:00.001-04:00

I have totally been AWOL from blogger lately... who knew a PART TIME job could take up every moment of every day?!

So my last post was full of frustration... sorry about that. We have since been to another church that I really liked, but there weren't a whole lot of couples our age (which is something the Hubs is really looking for) so we will try a few more and if they don't hit par we will return to the church I really like. :) This, for me, makes the church hunting a bit easier. Knowing that there is somewhere I can default back to if I don't find somewhere new is comforting.

I went to Bible study on post on Thursday night and one of the ladies made a statement that I loved.

"Wherever you are going, God is already there."

Which really gave me some peace in terms of being in a new place. And I hope will give the rest of you ladies some peace too. I mean, obviously, we already know this. But sometimes it helps to hear it again. ;) Especially for those of you that are PCSing soon, I hope this gives you a little peace in the midst of your storm.

This statement also speaks to the 9 gazillion blessings God has been bestowing on us lately.

On another note, I love my job. There are so many challenges EVERY day! I suppose to some, this wouldn't be a very good thing... but to me it is! I LOVE a good challenge!!! and BOY oh BOY am I being challenged here!!! Not in the gymnastics and coaching arena... but in all of the other administrative things that I am doing. I just finished up the booster club by-laws (9 pages of leagalistic mubo jumbo), the team handbook (11 pages), all kinds of brochures and flyers galore! You name it!!! On Saturday we went to the Kroger and handed out flyers and brochures and talked to Kroger customers about our gymnastics program and it actually turned out REALLY great!!! There were a TON of people that were genuinely interested and just didn't even know that our gymnastics program exists! So, I have lots more "word spreading" to do. I am just hoping all of my efforts are worth it!

Next on the gymnastics to-do list: creating vinyl car window stickers, ordering and selling t-shirts, and FUNDRAISING!!! we have a month to raise about $2,000. YIKES!!!

Hmm... let's see... what else?

The hubs just bought a streetbike. As in motorcycle. He is playing with it now.

Being a homeowner is lots of work, but definitely worth it.

I get to go home to Seattle at the end of August!!!! HOORAY!!!!

I'm starting school again on Aug 8th.

ummm.... I think that's all I have going on.
God is pretty awesome.

Better Wife Wednesday this week. I promise. :)

WARNING: I'm Frustrated.

2010-07-11T13:44:00.001-04:00

Why does church searching have to be so hard? Trying out new churches and finding a dud ruins my whole day. Make that my whole WEEK. I am SO frustrated. I just want to go to a new church and LIKE it! I don't want to hear their crappy guest speaker that twists Bible verses to timbuktu and takes them so far out of context that it makes you want to scream at them right there in the pew! DUDE! I am reading the SAME verse as you and that is NOT what the verse is referring to OR talking about! UGH!!!!!!!!! and then it blows our whole day. It puts both the hubs and I in a bad mood and we all know where THAT goes... SO instead of enjoying my Sunday afternoon after a long work week with my husband, I am instead sitting here and blogging and REALLY frustrated and the hubs is off driving around town REALLY frustrated. UGH! Someone please find me a good church here. Ok? Thanks.

I'm a Workin' Woman!

2010-07-08T17:26:00.000-04:00

Along with buying our new house and moving and blah blah blah... I also started WORKING AGAIN!!!

HOORAY!!!!

I have missed working soooooo bad and I am so glad to be at it again!

Not only am I just "working," but I am also doing what I LOVE.

My entire life my mom was a gymnastics coach. I watched her turn unsuccessful program after unsuccessful program into great success. I watched her bring girls who practiced 1/3rd of the time as club gyms in 1/8th the facility (both in terms of size and equipment) to STATE competitions and watched her girls year after year CREAM the competition!

Growing up, being the stubborn youngest, I decided I wanted nothing to do with gymnastics. That's for mom and big sis. WHY would I want ANY thing to do with that!? I liked to goof off in the gym occasionally (I was there 20+ hours a week!) but I wanted NOTHING to do with competing. Besides! Who wants their MOM for a coach ANY way!? PLUS! There were so many other sports! Softball, soccer, track and cross country? Now THOSE are sports.

I started as an assistant coach when I was 14 years old.

When I was 15 I started coaching on my own.

In high school I decided to join the school gymnastics team just for fun.

Our coach ended up being a flake and not so knowledgeable about gymnastics even when she was there... so I ended up taking over the coaching position on an unofficial basis. You know, when our flake coach decided not to show up to practice?

And then I just kept on coaching!

When I was 20 my mom decided that she was done coaching. And my sister was pregnant with her second sweet girl. We all decided that the gym we were at just wasn't where God wanted us anymore.

We all moved on to other things... but I was TOTALLY missing gymnastics.

When the hubs and I got married and I moved to the Fort Lewis area with him, I was fortunate to find a gym near by that was hiring. I soon became the Level 4 head coach and was LOVING life. It also kept me nice and busy while the hubs was in Afghanistan.

But the army had different plans for us and sent us to Fort Benning. Where we lived in the-middle-of-nowhere, Alabama. And the nearest ANYTHING was, I kid you not, at least a 30-40 minute drive. And the nearest gym was over an hour away. Yeah, I could have driven the distance to work... but on top of that we would be moving again in 6 months so I didn't want to bail on my gymnasts if I DID get a coaching position.

As our time at Benning came to an end, I started looking for a gym at our new duty station. And HOORAY!!! Here I am!!!

I recently accepted a position as the head coach at the Liberty County YMCA Gymnastics Program.

And holy moly am I busy!

When I arrived, the program was struggling to stay afloat. Enrollment was low, staff had little coaching experience, and their "team" girls had never competed in a meet before!

So, I have my work cut out for me.

We have a LOT of progress to make.

But I am SOOOO EXCITED!!!

And I am SO happy!

So do me a favor,

if you know ANYONE in the Fort Stewart area, please pass on a good word about Liberty Gymnastics at the Hinesville, GA YMCA

and if you want to be super awesome,

become a fan of Liberty Gymnastics on Facebook.

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-07-07T19:09:00.000-04:00

<center><ahref="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com/"target="_blank"><img border="0"alt="Better Wife Wednesday"src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

So, we have been in the process of buying a house and moving... and I have missed out on a few BWW's. But that's all done with now! We are (for the most part) settled in to the new place and I have already started work and explored quite a bit and I am LOVING it here!!! Just got back from a day at the beach and realized, "I REALLY miss blogging!" So, I am officially back.

As I was unpacking, I found a book that I bought a while back at Walgreens titled, "Married for Life: Inspirations from those married 50 years or more."

As I began to flip through the pages, a few things in particular stood out to me and I thought I would share them with you.

*Don't get mad over little things--they'll soon pass.

*If you speak in haste, apologize with haste, too!

*Love always takes maintenance--kindness is a part of that.

*Learn to bend and not break.

*Never get too old to hold hands.

*You can always work things out if you really want to.

*Don't expect everything in your marriage to be perfect.

*You've got to have love and you've got to know God.

*Believe that no matter what happens, things will work out right.

*A good marriage is based upon complete trust in each other.

*Stay busy-- then there's no time to argue!

*Spend time looking for ways to help each other.

*Keep your love, your health and your faith in God strong.

*Agree to walk away when a discussion becomes too heated.

*Feel lucky to be married!

This book is FULL of TONS of little stories about how the elderly couples that are featured met and how they kept their marriage together for so long. So many of these suggestions seem so common sense and "DUH!" but the fact of the matter is, no matter how much we KNOW how to be a good spouse, the question is if we are actually DOING it on a daily basis. I know I sure have a hard time sometimes! (MOST of the time...)

This week, pick one of the suggestions from above and write it on a post it or a notecard and stick it in at least three places that you will see it on a daily basis. And keep on reading it over and over again! See if it changes your marriage perspective a little. And then blog about it. :) And as always, don't forget the Better Wife Wednesday button so everyone can be linked back here.

(http://wigflip.com/superstickies/)

2 Years Ago Today

2010-06-21T21:42:00.001-04:00

Take a little trip back in time with me...

Two years ago today, about this time, I was getting ready to go out with friends in Seattle on a Saturday night.

I had NO idea that that night my entire life would change.

No, it's nothing bad.

In fact, it's actually super great!

I parked my car under the Seattle Viaduct

and walked a block up to Last Supper Club. It was one of our favorites plus we knew a few security guys so we never had to wait in line and NEVER had to pay cover. (is there any other way to go to a club? I think not...)

I met up with a few of my girl friends and a few guy friends and we just had a typical night out.

Later, when we were dancing I noticed this guy. He was tall and dark and reeeeeealllllly hott. He was just standing around with these other guys trying to look tough, but man was he cute!

My friend Kristal's boyfriend started breaking and a small circle formed up. (My favorite part of going dancing is watching the really cool dance guys!) And then the really cute guy started dancing in the circle! And he was pretty good. ;) Instantly he went form trying to look tough to visibly having a good time. I couldn't stop smiling watching him.

Then, the stupid new security guard came over and thought there was a fight and broke up the circle and kicked Kristal's boyfriend out. So Kristal and I went outside with him. They decided they were going to go home, but I still had other friends downstairs, so I decided to stay.

(Now, this part is going to be totally corny... but I swear to you, this is EXACTLY how it happened.)

I was walking down the stairs and it was kinda dark so I was watching my steps carefully. After I was about halfway down the stairwell, I looked up and the crowd parted and there stood the really hot guy. Like a GQ model. He was wearing a suit and a tie. His hair was styled but not spiky. Not too sweaty, but that sexy glistening. And he was looking right at me.

Okaaaaaay.... maybe that's not exactly what he looked like.... hahaha!

But this is MY memory so I can remember it however I want!!!

I kid you not, the music faded away and he was just watching me walk towards him. It was like a slow motion movie. He did the little head bob thing that guys do... you know what I'm talking about... and then had the cutest smile I have EVER seen. What was I supposed to do!? The super hot guy was totally picking me up from across the room!

(get ready... this is the corny part I was talking about... oh! you thought THAT part up there was corny? It gets better)

I grabbed him by his tie.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!!

yup. And apparently that's all it took!

We danced for a while (read: until the club closed)

I don't even know what happened to my other friends.

I was entirely entranced by this really hot guy's incredible charisma and majorly good dance skills.

So much so, that when he asked me if I wanted to hang out a little more I said, "yes."

Now, rewind back before noticing the hot guy... I was standing by the bar while Kristal was getting a drink and this amazon drunk chick tripped backwards and STOMPED on my foot with her stilletto. To say it hurt was an understatement. I later found out that she fractured my foot in two places.

Okay, back to hanging with the hot guy.

So we walked up a few blocks to an ATM (where I saw his pin number... it was totally easy, I promise I'm not a creep!) and then we went to this other club that was open for another hour and danced some more... I met his buddy and we took this picture:

Then he asked me if I wanted to go to their hotel.

And I said YES!?!?!?!?!?!?!

DISCLAIMER: I PROMISE I AM NOT SOME KIND OF SLEEZY GIRL WHO GOES HOME WITH EVERY GUY I MEET AT THE CLUB. IN FACT THIS WAS THE FIRST GUY I EVER LEFT THE CLUB WITH! AND I HAVE NO OTHER EXPLANATION THAN THAT GOD HAD A BIGGER PLAN (OBVIOUSLY!) AND THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL THAT NIGHT. BECAUSE NORMALLY, THERE IS NO WAY IN THE WORLD THAT I WOULD EVER ACT THIS WAY! AND I HADN'T EVEN HAD A SINGLE DRINK ALL NIGHT!

So, remember the amazon drunk chick that stiletto stomped me and broke my foot?

Well, the hot guy (who I do actually know his name by now...) told me his hotel was "just like two blocks away" so I decided to tough out the pain... mind you I'm wearing 4 inch high heels...

So we talked along the way.

Hot guy told me he was in the army.

My response? "Oh, then this is NOT going to work out..."

Hot guy told me he wasn't going to sleep with me.

I laughed. (NOT what I had in mind anyway!!!)

Hot guy and I continued to just talk away... until I mentioned that we had been walking for quite a while... "I thought it was only two blocks away?"

His response? "Well, I guess it's a little further than I thought. I think its just a few more miles."

MILES!!!?!?!?!?!?

I had a broken foot. And I walked MILES for this guy.

THAT is how hot he was.

(hahahah!!!!)

After we fiiiiiiiiiinally made it to their hotel, we hung out and talked in their room for a while, but it was too far for me to walk back to my car alone... Hot guy gave me a pair of shorts and I stayed the night.

NOTE DISCLAIMER ABOVE!!!!

And no, we didn't "do it."

In the morning he drove me back to my car

(which was THREE MILES AWAY!!!!!)

and then asked when he could see me again.

We exchanged numbers but I assumed I would never see him again.

He called me that afternoon and made a date for Monday.

And then we talked on the phone just about every single day.

And he would drive two hours in Seattle traffic to come see me on week days.

Even when he had to be at PT in the morning at 6am. 65 miles away.

And the rest is history!

6 months after the night we met he proposed and 4 months after that we got married!

And now, 2 years later, we are living across the country and buying a house.

To say that God DIDN'T have a plan that night would be ridiculous.

There is NO WAY that I would have ever decided to hang out with him that night (despite all his hottness) if God wasn't there pushing me after him.

So, THANKS GOD!!! :)

Introducing...

2010-06-21T10:36:00.002-04:00

...SPA Diaries!!

A daily Bible Study Blog hosted by a few of your favorite bloggers!!
(I'm one of your favorites right?) :P
Meet the bloggers HERE

There will be five different studies -- one for each day of the week -- going on at the same time.

So hop on over to The SPA and follow in Nehemiah's footsteps and See Pray and Act.

(You can find me on Fridays hosting,

"But the Greatest of These is Love.")

Hope to see you there!

I have a new favorite blog!

2010-06-17T16:19:00.000-04:00

OH MY GOSH.

If you have not already beat me to this AMAZINGLY incredible blog, you MUST go and check it out right now.

I just spent the last hour browsing her projects and recipes and I didn't even scratch off the tip of the iceberg.

Go. Now. I'm in love.

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-06-16T08:31:00.003-04:00

<center><ahref="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com/"target="_blank"><img border="0"alt="Better Wife Wednesday"src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

Since I am a little *busy* lately... I decided to feature a new blogger and her WONDERFUL "Being a Better Wife" post.

Mrs. G is a newlywed army wife (just like me!) and her post really hit the nail on the head! So get reading and then head on over to American Dreamer and start following!

According to my online wedding countdown, I have been a wife for sixty six days now. And I absolutely love it. This marriage is a dream come true, and is so much more amazing than anything I could ever ask for. For whatever reason, God saw fit to bless me with perfection to have and to hold until death do us part. And it blows my mind every single day. I couldn't be more grateful.

However, over the past sixty six days I've found myself "trying to be a better wife"-- and then getting upset with myself when (by my own self-imposed standards) I've failed. This week I had one of those "duh" moments, where God humbled and encouraged me. I realized something that I thought I already knew. I'm not going to be the best wife I can be by trying to become a better wife. What I need to work on is becoming the woman that God created me to be. And then everything else will fall into place. My biggest problem is not that I'm not a good enough wife, it's that I haven't been spending nearly enough time with my savior. I'll be a better wife, friend, daughter, sister, everything when my heart is right with God and when I'm drawing close to Him.

. . . when I was thinking about this today, I realized that every epiphany I've ever had has always been the same thing. "Draw close to God." That is the answer to my every struggle. And I have to relearn it all the time. I will probably learn it eight million more times before I get to heaven-- but hopefully I start learning it quicker. Thank You Lord, for your incredible patience.

So today, I'm deciding to become a better wife. For real. Not by cleaning the house more or improving my cooking skills, but by buliding my relationship with God. By allowing God to love through me.

Don't you LOVE those "duh" moments when God so tenderly (or sometimes not so tenderly...) humbles and encourages us? Mrs. G, you are SO right! I love your quote, "By allowing God to Love through me." Our relationships with our husbands will never succeed if we can't get our relationship right with God first. Every time in my life that I have ever struggled, I look back and I see that those were the times I so FOOLISHLY thought I could do it on my own. What a GREAT reminder to put God first and KEEP him there!

Your turn! Write a post about the importance to "draw close to God" in your marriage. Has there been a time that you have fallen short all by yourself? Don't you LOVE God's awesome grace? I am SO thankful that he is there to pick up my pieces and guide me as I try to put it back the way HE wants it.

I want it... Tuesday?

2010-06-15T13:56:00.001-04:00

I WANT this book!

I am in LOVE with hand stamped metal jewelry right now...
I want THIS tool kit.

I want to make stuff like this:

and her hand stamped sterling square shown HERE

I'm in love and I REALLY want it :)

Next on the list?

found HERE

OH MY GOSH!

I have been looking for a new clutch/wallet (mine is old and falling apart...) and this is EVERYTHING I am looking for!!!

found HERE

I love the shape and totally love the fabric!!

Bye Bye my Beautiful Cadi!

2010-06-12T22:06:00.000-04:00

So, we said goodbye today to my B-E-A-Utiful Cadi.
*tear*

Bye bye pretty, shiny grill and headlights...

Bye bye sparkly gray paint...

Bye bye push button start.

Bye bye USB port iPhone charger.

Bye bye pretty center console and my favorite little analog clock...

But HELLLOOOOOOOO Big, Sexy 4x4 F-150!!!

of course that means the truck is the Hub's new car and I'm back to driving the Cougar...

...but that's okay. It's was my car before we got married. :)

12 Days Until Closing!!!

2010-06-12T12:50:00.000-04:00

everyone join me now,

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

phew! I feel a little better now. No, not really. I'm still a little stressed... but I'm doing okay.

Just cleaning house, hanging with the mutts, spending just about every day signing and faxing paperwork back and forth with our mortgage broker and our real estate agent... still working on buttons and things and trying not to get totally overwhelmed.

(I'm not sure how well that's going)

Later today, possibly trading in our car... no more Cadi :(

And shopping to find a wonderful gift for Abigail's baby shower tomorrow!

(I know, I'm totally a slacker...)

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! :)

Lt. Dan Berschinski

2010-06-10T08:31:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, my handsome husband was deployed to Afghanistan this time last year. We were very fortunate and he was sent home on a mid-tour PCS back in November so that we could come here for his MCCC course. Despite the fact that his deployment was very short (only 4 months long, praise God), his unit has faced some of the hardest times in the US history of war in Afghanistan.

There have been countless news articles and innumerable video segments from news stations across the US talking about the troubles this unit has faced. 22 soldiers were also sent home early, only to their home in Heaven and not back to their families in the states. Far too many more were injured.

If you have not yet checked out my button on the left, Lt. Dan Berschinski is one of the soldiers from this unit. My husband was fortunate enough to be his mentor when Lt. Berschinski first joined them at Fort Lewis.

Lt. Bershinski has spent the last 10 months convalescing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after he was seriously injured in Afghanistan in August 2009. Dan Berschinski, a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, lost both his legs in an explosion of an improvised explosive device.

Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I were fortunate enough to run a 5k to raise funds for the Lt. Dan Berschinski Fund and my hubs was able to talk with Dan. (you can read my post about it HERE) Unfortunately, we missed the ceremonies later in the afternoon, but Dan's brother posted this video of Dan's Memorial Day speech.

Beware: I cried like a big baby.

ALERT! ALERT!!

2010-06-10T00:25:00.001-04:00

BIG NEWS!!!

Better Wife Blog Design is in partially full effect. ;)

CHECK OUT THE NEW STUFF!

(not that there is anything there... I litterally just started it)

but start following now and I will move over the old and add more with a WHOLE BUNCH of new! :)

there will be giveaways at every 100 followers, so SPREAD the news!!!

<center><a href="http://betterwifeblogdesign.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Better Wife Blog Design"src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifeblogdesignbig.jpg"/><br></a></center>

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-06-09T09:36:00.002-04:00

"This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!"
Mark 9:7

Yesterday, the hubs and I were out golfing. Or rather, he was golfing and I was walking with him enjoying the course and the beautiful sunshiney weather -- which reminds me, don't go golfing (read: 3hours) without sunscreen when you are a whitey like me. Anywho, we got on the topic of me going back to school and whether or not I should take online classes or classes in a classroom. I explained to my hubs that I've done it both ways! I know what works for me! "and frankly," I said, "I am just not a very good listener!" (but between you and me, I'm pretty sure my sweet hubs knew that about me already)

Marriage is a call to listen.

When our spouses are frustrating and create difficult situations for us, God calls us to listen to his still, small voice and ask, "What do you want me to learn from this? How do you want to use this situation to change my heart? Where do you want me to grow today?"

But instead of listening, our impatience immediately wants to provide commentary. Our natural arrogance is eager to speak, to be heard and to be understood! (I know mine sure is!) If you're anything like me, we can't wait to express our opinion, state our outrage, or make perfectly clear our intentions; but the Bible warns, "When words are many, sin is not absent" (Proverbs 10:19).

That's pretty much a flashing neon sign for me telling me kindly,

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"

It is so easy for us when things aren't going our way to ask God, "Why!?" Why is my marriage falling apart? Why can't I find the job I want? Why Why WHY!? When the more appropriate question is what? What do you want me to learn from this, God? What character issue are you eager to transform?

"Why" questions are interrogations; we want an explanation! "What" questions humbly ask for insight. "Why" questions assume God has to defend himself; "what" questions more correctly put the blame on us: how do we need to change?

Marriage is an amazing school in the art of listening. Through our first year of marriage my report card definitely read a big, fat, red "F." I would like to say that my grades are going up, but I doubt I'm much higher than a "D" at this point. If you are anything like me, listening sometimes feels like an unnatural act, requiring supernatural assistance. When I am upset or frustrated, I don't want to listen to anyone; not even God. I want to state my case! I want to make it very clear how I FEEL!

But thank goodness God knew what he was doing when he called us to marriage. Listening is an active discipline, it requires serious motivation and about as much humility as any spiritual obligation we will ever accept. It also provides the foundation for our spiritual health. Jesus spent a pretty good amount of his time on earth urging people to just listen:

"Listen and understand" (Matthew 16:10).

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:9).

"Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 'Listen to me, everyone, and understand this'" (Mark 7:14).

"Consider carefully how you listen" (Luke 8:18).

"Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you" (Luke 9:44).

"My sheep listen to my voice" (John 10:27).

Gary Thomas said, "Listening is the motor oil for both spiritual growth and marital health. Without it, the friction and the heat will cause the gears of our souls to jam and break, blowing up the engine." Relationships start to break down when both parties keep talking and stop listening. Being together, building intimacy, and growing in oneness require that we LISTEN.

When we stop listening, we stop loving.

I found a quote from Albert Einstein which I love (being that I'm a math kind of girl), “If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.” I am finding that this is a great formula for success in marriage as well.

Listening, of course, is really not that easy (for me anyway...). Listening requires a colossal shift in attitude. It really does require supernatural help! Thankfully, we have a pretty awesome supernatural being on our team: one pretty amazing and awe-inspiring God. God uses the challenge of marriage to teach us about ourselves. He uses our spouses to teach us how the other gender thinks and reacts. He uses marriage to give perspective, and quite possibly a new outlook. God does not limit his lessons according to the "holiness" of the persons we live with; he is fully able to speak through even the worst of sinners.

But when we refuse to listen, we miss ALL of this.

Brenda Ueland, an American feminist and author from 1891-1985 once said, “Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. We are constantly being re-created.”

The best way to change your marriage and to be a better wife is to start listening more than you talk. And when you pray, listen more than you complain. Use your ears and watch how God uses your new found listening skills to reawaken your heart and revive your marriage. I have found that God will use any situation in life to teach me something, it is all just a matter of whether I choose to listen.

This week, listen. I know I sure need to.

If you decide to make a vow to LISTEN this week, please sign the linky list below with your name and link us to your blog
ie. Karissa @ Being a Better Wife

I really don't have much to say...

2010-06-08T17:02:00.004-04:00

but I thought I would check in...

I was able to complete my giant list the other day! YAY!

And the sellers accepted our offer!!! (well, kinda... they countered at a little higher and then WE accepted)

So as long as the inspection goes well, the house is OURS!!!

The countdown is officially ON.

In the meantime, I am working on a blog design for a new blog that a few other ladies and myself are hoping to start soon! I will disclose this information when the time gets closer and we are a little more ready ;)

And! I am working on some more buttons and headers and hopefully in the next month (despite all the moving stuff) I will have my Better Wife Blog Design up and running! Woohoo!!!

Here was my very first attempt at a scrapbook blog design!

and here are my latest buttons!

Craziness

2010-06-07T11:02:00.000-04:00

So there has been some serious craziness going on around here lately...

1. we were back in the Ft Stewart area looking at houses over the weekend... looked at over 35 houses in one day. (LOVE our real estate agent! OMG!)

2. we MADE AN OFFER ON A HOUSE!!!!

3. I am in the process (taking a little break) of finding a home inspector, mailing our earnest money, shopping for home owners insurance, praying they accept our offer, cleaning the house and preparing to MOVE in 18 days (!!!!!!!!), oh the list goes on!

4. tomorrow is hub's graduation from MCCC.

5. he is getting ready to leave to ranger school in 20 days.

6. He had his PT test this morning and lost our only key to his car... had to call a locksmith and have a new key made... but then found the key again. (at least now we have two keys!)

7. I still need to find a dress to wear to his graduation

8. I still need to pick up the mutts from boarding and bathe them (they are always stinky after being at boarding all weekend)

9, and because of all the storms and rain, I have to mow the lawn ALL over again! despite the fact that I mowed it last week!

10. have to pay bills

11. and I am planning to bring flowers and brownies to our neighbor... her dad died (cancer) and her husband (they just got married about 3 weeks ago) is set to deploy any day now... :( (please pray for them)

sooooo.... that's what I'm up to! I'm sure I forgot some things that are on the list... but I've got to get back to it!! AHHHHH!!!! We might be homeowners by tonight!!!!!!

Wisdom-less

2010-06-03T12:38:00.000-04:00

I survived. Sort of.

Actually, I'm doing pretty good. My face isn't nearly as giant as it was yesterday.

Apparently, most everyone I know was put under to have their wisdom teeth taken out... but oh! Not me! I was wiiiiiiide awake. And crying.

My sweet little asian lady dentist... bless her heart... but she is NOT gentle with that giant needle of numbness.

Nor was she very gentle when she had to rest her forearm across my forehead for leverage while she was yanking my teeth out.

The top two came out alright... but the bottom two were impacted and thought they wanted to stay.

My sweet dentist --out of breath from pulling-- had to call in the cavalry. "Can I get an extra set of hands in room 4 please?" (over the INTERCOM!) Yes. She needed an extra set of hands to HOLD MY HEAD DOWN!!!

Thank GOD for those painfully awful shots of numbness.... I can't IMAGINE this situation without them!!

So with one lady holding my head down (with BOTH HANDS and her entire BODY as leverage), another doing the suction (for the truly massive amount of blood in my mouth) and my sweet little dentist yanking, they finally got my last tooth out.

I drearily (is that a word?) walked out to the car where my sweet hubs was waiting for me and we drove over to the Walgreens for my pain medication... then home where we sat on the couch and I iced my cheeks and he watched 24.

FYI: applesauce doesn't taste very good with blood.

Actually, blood just doesn't taste good at all. I will not be joining the vampire kids any time soon. Yuck!

Despite the fact that I was a total baby and had tears rolling down my face the whole time, it's over with! (well, kinda. I have to go back next week to have my stitches taken out...) And yes, it was actually WORSE than I imagined it would have been... but hey! It's a good story right?! ...if only I could TALK to tell it!!!

[092] have my wisdom teeth pulled (just generally scared!)

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-06-02T05:00:00.009-04:00

<center><a href="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Better Wife Wednesday" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

2 Corinthians 7:1

The other day I was watching a re-run of House. The patient was a female. At first, she had a rash, then she had a seizure, then her liver failed, then her lungs were failing, and... you know how House goes. Now Dr. House had two options. He could go and fix each individual problem... get a liver transplant, fix her lungs, fix her rash, and so on... OR he could find the TRUE root of the problem and solve it all! What would you choose if you were the patient?

You would fix the TRUE root of the problem! NOT just the symptoms! Am I right?

Well, of course this is what House did. And he saved the day in the process!

The same goes for our marriages. We can say over and over,

"We need to have better communication"

"We aren't intimate enough"

"We need to stop fighting"

"We need to show more appreciation for each other"

the list goes on.

But are these the true problems? Or are they just the superficial symptoms? There must be something deeper going on that is causing all of these negative symptoms in our marriage and relationships. What is the ROOT of all these symptoms? I believe the ROOT of all these problems is a lack of or a misguided spiritual motivation.

I think Gary Thomas, author of "Devotions for a Sacred Marriage," put it best when he wrote:

"It all comes down to this: Are you a God-centered spouse or a spouse-centered spouse? A spouse-centered spouse acts nicely toward her husband when he acts nicely towards her. She is accommodating as long as her husband pays her attention. A spouse-centered husband will go out of his way for his wife, as long as she remains agreeable and affectionate. He'll romance her, as long as he feels rewarded for doing so.

But Paul tells us we are to perfect holiness out of reverence for God. Since God is always worthy to be revered, we are always called to holiness; we are always called to love. A God-centered spouse feels more motivated by his or her commitment to God than by whatever response a spouse may give."

If I am to rid myself of anything that may contaminate body or spirit, then there is no room in my life for jealousy, bitterness, resentment, selfishness, or anger. The Bible says I am ALWAYS called to practice gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Someone else's sin -- even sin of my spouse against me -- NEVER gives me the right to respond with sin. I am called to only ONE motivation: reverence for God.

Whatever my hubs does or doesn't do is almost irrelevant. Every decision I make, every word I say, every thought I think, every action I perform is to flow out of ONE holy motivation: reverence for God.

How can we be a God-centered spouse on a daily basis? Post your Top 5 ways to be a God-centered spouse and link it back here with the Better Wife Wednesday button. Be sure to leave a comment with the link to your post so we can all follow along!

UPDATE! Ok, let's see if the linky works :) Thanks Amber for the idea!

FREE BOOKS!

2010-06-01T15:24:00.001-04:00

If you haven't yet, go to

Military OneSource

I just received:

Darn You Rain! I'm NOT in Seattle anymore!!!

2010-06-01T14:17:00.000-04:00

As far as my past Memorial Day Weekends go, I have always been back in Washington. And in Washington (particularly the Seattle area) Memorial Day is ALWAYS SUNNY and signifies the beginning of the summertime! So WHY is it that I move to the south where it has been summer-like here for MONTHS and Memorial Day Weekend comes (read: SUMMER STARTS!) and it is POURING DOWN RAIN. ALL THE TIME!!! Did I switch places or something?! What the heck!

The main source of this rant is that yesterday I was mowing the lawn and when I was about 90% done, it started MONSOON RAINING on me. Not kidding. And so then I was going to finish it today and when I was walking to the bedroom to get my lawn mowing clothes on, I heard pounding on the roof. It had started poring AGAIN. So basically, I don't have to mow the lawn today! :) But, I kinda wanted to just get it over with... the lawn looks a little funny. ;)

Anywho... the 5k was AWESOME. I have not had so much fun running in my life. There was a HUGE turnout in support of LT. DAN BERSCHINSKI (be sure to grab his new button to the left!) The hubs wore his ruck with 50lbs in it and ran along side me. (Otherwise, he would have definitely ran off without me because I'm too slow for him...) But the course was BEAUTIFUL. If you haven't been to Peachtree City, GA you must GO. Absolutely beautiful. :) It reminded me of Washington. (Which I consider to be the greatest place on the planet, FYI.)

When we got there, we weren't sure if the Hubs would be able to see Dan... there was no clarification as to whether or not he would be at the race, only that he would be at a ceremony later in the evening... which we would not be able to make it to. (dog boarding thing... they are closed on Sundays and Holidays for pick up, so if we didn't pick them up by 3pm on Saturday, we would have to pay for two extra nights and not be able to pick up until today... LAME!) ANYway... after checking in at 6:30am we got to wait around until the race started at 8am... but guess who showed up around 7:30!! Dan rolled in and was talking to a few guys that immediately surrounded him (looked like maybe dads of friends? or family friends?) The hubs and I stood about 20 feet away waiting for the crowd to clear. While all the guys were talking to Dan, he caught a glimpse of the hubs through the crowd and his face just lit up! While I started crying, the hubs walked over and did the man-shake handshake with Dan (you know what it looks like... the handshake-turn-handgrip-turn-half-hug... yah). And they talked for a few minutes... it was awesome. It made me REALLY happy. :) And it was really encouraging to see Dan looking so happy despite the circumstances.

(I will try to post the pic of the Hubs and Dan together soon... it's on his phone)

Here is proof we did it:

(notice my EXTREMELY red face? THAT is the proof)

We didn't quite reach my goal of finishing under 30min... we finished in 32:40.

We are also looking forward to our next 5k together! We had a ton of fun! I for one, have never enjoyed running with anyone else (my hubs) more! So this is definitely something we look forward to doing again and again!

----------------

Tomorrow I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled....

*whimper*

I just keep reminding myself that I get to eat pudding and ice cream and applesauce. ;)

-----------------

And I still have some more blog buttons to finish up... I promise I haven't forgotten about you! We've just been bombarded with crazy amounts of busy-ness lately!!!

"Happy" Memorial Day?!

2010-05-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

I do not know the author of this, but a friend of mine posted this on her FB page and the moment I read it I knew I wanted to share. I feel so fortunate, grateful, thankful, (the list goes on) that I have my husband to stand by my side as we run our first 5k together this Memorial Day weekend, but at the same time I am filled with so much grief and sadness thinking of the wives and families that do not get to share their time with their fallen heroes or who must travel thousands of miles to visit loved ones at Walter Reed. Who's heros did not come home. My heart goes out to our gold stars. I want you to know that you are always on my mind and your fight to persevere is nothing short of absolutely amazing. You are an inspiration and although I do not know you, I love you. Without further ado, "Happy" Memorial Day.

Every year at this time I fight with the idea that people tell me "Happy Memorial Day". People that know me, know what Ive gone through... still say it to me. Family still says it. For the rest who say it, do you think that there is anything "happy" at all about remembering all those who have died for this country? I blog about this every year and I dont think there will ever be a year that I dont. When I hear those three words my skin crawls.

"Happy Memorial Day"...it seems to just flow off the tongues of those around us. As though Memorial Day is just any other "holiday" to be celebrated with joy and happiness. When someone says "Hey Happy Memorial Day" what exactly are they so "happy" about? Maybe its the extra 20% or 30% they will get off beach towels at Macys, or maybe its the fact that they are off work, cooking out and not paying any attention to why they are really off work. Do these "happy" people take any time during their day off to share a moment thinking of those who paid the ultimate price for them to be off work and cooking out, or shopping "the big sale"??

Do people take the time to teach and show their children the importance of Memorial Day? Do they take them to a National Cemetery and show them all the lives that have been lost, tell them what that means for those who are still alive? Do they educate their children to show respect to those who have fallen for all the freedoms we take for granted every damn day? Do they just take a moment, a simple moment in their day to show that they care, or understand what the day is about?

My first Memorial Day I was not willing to admit that it had anything to do with Chris. We had always gone and placed flags at grave sites on this day. My first Memorial Day I did the same thing with Oliver and Owen in tow. But on that first one, there were more deaths. A CPT Alex Funkhouser was killed while in the line of duty not only to his country but to US reporters in Iraq. I knew that all that I had been feeling since January 5, his wife would now feel too. My heart broke for I knew every Memorial Day she would have a double heart wrenching reminder of her husband's death. I knew that she would face Memorial Day and the 29th of May, double days for her. Little did I know that this wife, now a new widow like me would become one of my best friends. Little did I know that she had two girls close to my two boy's age. Little did I know that our lives ran in such a parallel manner.

My second Memorial Day I took the boys and we went to Virginia to see Chris' mom. I wanted to spend this Memorial Day with Chris at Arlington. I wanted the boys to see that they were not only, not alone; but that they could still be near their father. As that day went on there were more cameras taking pictures of them by Chris' grave.(One made it to the front page of the Washington Post the next day) There were families that just stood there, paying their respects and as the tears flowed down their cheeks they watched Oliver fix a flag by Chris' grave. They watched Owen pluck the heads of the flowers there and they watched a mother with tears in her eyes as she realized this was her reality, this was her life. Watching her two boys "play" with or by their father...the only way they ever would be able to.

As I looked around and saw their faces, their tears and their heads shaking back and forth; I realized that yes there are those out there that dont say "Happy Memorial Day", they come to Arlington to pay their respects to OUR fallen. They come to be with those who have paid the ultimate and spend time with their families. There was a father there, in uniform and beside him was his little son in BDUs. They stood at attention as TAPS played. I was so taken by this that I asked him why he does this with his son and he said "death is a part of life, death for your country is going beyond what life can offer" "I want my son to realize what this day is for. Not just a day off school or work, I want him to understand and respect the magnitude of what and who and why we have set this day aside to honor and remember those who have died in combat". I burst into tears, gave him a big hug and as I let go of him he and his son saluted the boys and I and then went to salute Chris. (Gosh I have tears running down my face typing this) I have never seen the true meaning in any one person's eyes of what Memeorial Day means to them then that of those eyes that day.

So I ask that if you dont know anyone who has been affected by a war death, to please at least teach your children what Memorial Day is for. Take them to a National Cemetary and place a few flags, go on and google Memorial Day, teach them about what this day means. This is just a small thing to do, teach your kids what this country is about, teach them why we need to stand up for it, love it, and protect it. That is the BEST way to honor our fallen, those who faught and died for what they beleived in. For those families that struggle everyday without their loved one, this is a small gesture for them too. It tells us that our loved one, did not die in vain. If you do know someone who has lost someone to a war, this one or any previous, please take the time to just tell them you are thinking about them, you are greatful and love them. But please dont say "Happy Memorial Day" to them...for us there is nothing "happy" about it.

To all my widsters that might read this, know that on Memorial Day, your Anniversaries and every day of the year, I think of OUR HEROES! I think about your families, your pain, your hearts your children and your happiness. For those who have lost a family member to previous wars, my heart and my thoughts are always with you too. Thank you for your loved ones service to our great nation, I am forever in their debt for their sacrifice.

May this Memorial Day bring you comfort in knowing that our Great Nation acknowledges and says "Thank You" for the sacrifice OURS and THEIR HEROES have made for us and them!

May we raise a glass to OUR HEROES! WE love you...We miss you...We are proud of you....We are forever YOURS!

TGIF

2010-05-28T11:37:00.004-04:00

So, last night the hubs and I were able to attend the International Students Graduation dinner and ceremony from the MCCC course here at Benning. It was a wonderful ceremony and the food was DELICIOUS! They even did this beautiful dedication where they left a table for one, all set, but empty in honor of soldiers past and soldiers present who have given their lives and dedicated their time and so are unable to join in the celebration. It was really nice and almost made me teary...

But then there were the old women and the snob younger girls. And I kid you not, I spent almost the entire drive home composing a rant blog post that I was TOTALLY going to post in all my ranty frustration!!!

But, obviously, I didn't.

But the gist of it was, I was frustrated and disgusted by the way girls treat some other girls and the way these older women (retired military wives) were treating my hubs and I. The hubs has mentioned various times to me before about couples or particular people he has noticed glaring at us while we hold hands... I always just blew it off thinking he was being over sensitive. "Racism is so stone age. Who does that anymore?" were my exact thoughts. Until last night I have never felt SO..... I can't even think of words to describe it. I felt crummy. These grumpy little old ladies couldn't stick their noses further up in the air or look more evil or give more deadly stares if they tried! ...in fact, you know what? talking about it is frustrating me all over again and you get the rant!

Alright ladies. I need you to be honest. What is it about me that is so awful that you have to look down at me over the top of your nose? Is it because I'm 23? Is it because I don't have my degree? That I wasn't in some sorority? Is it because I'm not from Texas or that I married a man who is not white? That's right! Mixed marriage over here!! Everyone!!! LOOK!!! I MARRIED AN INDIAN GUY!! YUP! STRAIGHT FROM INDIA! You want to stare at us holding hands some more? I don't think I caught that last evil glare. You turned your nose up up and away too quick for me to get the full spectrum of your disgusting stare. So really, what is it? Why is it again that I am so "little" to you? Why is it that you CLEARLY don't like me? Thank goodness moving means leaving the bitches behind!

UGH!

But boy, I feel better already. ;)

Frustration aside... it is Memorial Day weekend and I am excited to go visit Peachtree City, GA and run our 5k to honor LT. DAN BERSCHINSKI and all of our other wounded warriors and the heroes that have given their lives for our country.

I will not be blogging this weekend, but have scheduled a special Memorial Day post that will post itself on Saturday morning during our run. I hope that you all have a safe and relaxing weekend!

Blog Award

2010-05-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

Miss Brittney @ A Day in the Life of a Navy Wife gave me a blog award the other day! Thanks for thinking of me! :)

The rules state that I must share 7 things about myself, so here goes...

1. I have had the same best friend since I was 6 years old. And what do ya know? I married an army boy and she married a marine. And only 5 months apart. :)

2. My favorite colors are pink and green, and they were also our wedding colors.

3. My absolute favorite movies are Mary Poppins and Pollyanna. Every time I watch, I just can't stop smiling the whole way through! (except for when Pollyanna falls and then I cry... every time.)

4. I would rather save money than spend it. (unless I find some super cute shoes)

5. If I could, I would just eat fruit and ice cream all day every day.

6. My husband is CONVINCED that I have serious ADD. I might. ;)

7. I'm a Seattle girl and always will be, but for now I am totally LOVING the South.

Now I get to pass the award on to some other blogs I love...

- Karie at **Wife of a Wounded Marine**

- Erin H. at A Blue-Eyed Blonde, & Her Green-Eyed Airman

- Mrs. Bierschenk at Cowgirl and Combat Boots

- L.C. at Faith & Deployments

- KelleeLyn at You + Me = Wiiiii

- Amber at The Survival Guide For The Young, Fabulous & Newlywed

- Expat Girl at The Sand is Different Here

- Jennifer at The LaJeunesse Family

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-05-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time again! It's

<center><a href="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Better Wife Wednesday" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

Last week, Amber @

posted the greatest thing and I just HAD to follow her lead :)

(Read her post, My Man Is... for the original)

Although mine isn't quite as eloquent or romantic as Amber's, without further ado, here it is:

My man is like a big bonfire -- sometimes he’s a little stinky, but he is always fun to be around, he lights up my life, and when we’re together everything else just melts away.

My man is like a rollercoaster harness -- no matter how bad things get turned upside down, he’s always there to hold me tight.

My man is like a big scoop of ice cream -- exactly what I want no matter what time of day!

My man is like a wild animal trainer -- He’s the only man I know who can handle me.

My man is like sipping hot cocoa with marshmallows on a cold winter day -- He gives me that warm fuzzy feeling from the inside out.

My man is like an amazing new pair of jeans or a hot new pair of heels -- He’s totally irresistible and I’ve GOT to have him!

My man is 1 John 3:18 -- he loves me everyday in his actions and in truth.

My man is the sound of rain falling on the roof -- no matter where we are, he makes it feel like home.

My man is my version of John Wayne -- my hero! Only he drives a Cadi, not a horse. And he prefers golf cleats over cowboy boots.

My man is better than a body pillow -- he cuddles back.

My man is Song of Solomon 5:16 -- he is my beloved and he is my friend.

My man is God's best for me!

Now it's YOUR turn!

Post YOUR "My Man Is..." with the Better Wife Wednesday Button at the top and leave the link to your post in the comments below so that everyone can follow along.

Taking on "The List"

2010-05-25T18:11:00.001-04:00

As some of you might remember, way back on May 12th, I started my 101 in 1001.

Well, knock off [004] enroll in a University/4 year college!

I am officially a Troy University student! hahah! I know, it's not that great... but it's a start. (again!) You see, I have been enrolled in two colleges before. Right out of high school I went to the University of Washington. I had wanted to be a husky my whole life! I grew up watching the dawgs play football with my dad. It was the only school I ever wanted to go to! Except... I was 17. And had discovered these two things called "parties" and "boys." And 5 quarters later, I dropped out... :(

Then a few years later I jumped back on the school train and enrolled in Shoreline Community College. (I know, backwards right?) Well, I took a bunch of early childhood education courses and some psych and some human biology... and then I met ANOTHER boy! (now my hubs) I was too overwhelmed with planning a wedding in 4 months, working 48 hours a week and driving an hour every weekend to visit said boy... aaaaaand, I dropped out again.

Well, I am a college drop-out NO MORE! And college degree, HERE I COME! I am determined to finish it out this time. Third times the charm right? ;)

Back to the list!

Knock off [089] eat a genuine GEORGIA PEACH!

I went to the farmers market out here in the-middle-of-nowhere, Alabama today (for the fifth time... this is the first time they were open) and I bought a box of five peaches for $2.00!!!! And they are sooooooo yummy!!! Definitely the BEST peach I have ever had. Super juicy and super sweet! :)

It was DELICIOUS. period.

And, I know I bought it in Alabama, but it was Georgia grown. I asked. ;)

Next!!

I haven't done it yet, but it's THIS SATURDAY!!!

[032] run a 5k (signed up for All American 5k on May 28, 2010) in the health and fitness section

AND

[013] run a 5k together in the marriage section

And ready for the biggest list knock off of all?

[092] have my wisdom teeth pulled (just generally scared!)

AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I set an appointment at the dentist for Tuesday June 2nd.

I am looking forward to the yogurt, ice cream, applesauce and pudding aspect of this item though. :)

Well, slowly but surely, I'm taking on my list!

Hopefully I will finish it all!!

p.s. we are pre-approved on our home loan! (HA!)

and next weekend we will be going BACK to Stewart for job interview #2 and a home tour with our REAL ESTATE AGENT!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!

What a weekend!

2010-05-24T10:52:00.000-04:00

With our fast approaching move, we drove over to the Ft. Stewart area to check out neighborhoods and housing. Talk about a TON of driving! We left our house at 8am... drove 4 hours to get there... drove around ALL day looking around... then drove 5 hours BACK home and got home at 1am.

But it was good. We found out a lot about the area! And some new doors have definitely opened for us!

1. I had a job interview to be the new gymnastics director at a small facility in Hinesville. (Please pray I get this position!! Pray for favor with the programs director and that God will put the right words in my mouth!)

2. We applied for a home loan pre-approval! AHHHHH!!!!!! We talked about it a LOT and considering we will be there for at least two years (probably more if the hubs volunteers for a deployment...) and as much as 4 or 5 years (I might stay while he goes to Grad School)... it just was NOT a good investment for us to be renting a home for $1100/month. Think of all the money we would just be THROWING away!! Soooo..... we will see.

We will be going back very soon for a second interview with the program director and to look at some more homes and meet with a real estate agent. Our timeline is shrinking faster than I would like... The hubs is hoping to get me moved in before he leaves for ranger school at the end of June! AHHHHH!

On a side note, All American 5k this weekend. Donate to DAN BERSCHINSKI!!!

I'm off to take the mutts to the vet. They are still sick and no amount of chicken and rice are making things any more solid. :(

I will start busting out your buttons this afternoon :)

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons!!

2010-05-21T22:32:00.003-04:00

I'm still having a TON of fun making buttons

and I'm getting better, I'd say! ;)

So, if you still want to have a custom blog button made just for YOU,

let me know!!!

Remember, all buttons are FREE, but it would be really really
WONDERFUL if you would make a small donation to the
DAN BERSCHINSKI FUND!

Good 'ol Myspace Quiz

2010-05-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

Haha! For old time's sake right? Found a good 'ol Myspace quiz for ya!

*A-2-Z About Me Survey* by bamachic49
{---Basics---}
Name:	Karissa
Nickname(s):	kiki, riss, babe, honey
Age:	20-something ;)
Birthday:	Aug 27th
Birthplace:	Seattle, WA
Current Location:	Ft Benning
Eye Color:	brown
Hair Color:	blonde
Height:	5'5"
Weight:	depends how much ice cream I eat the night before!
Lefty or Righty:	righty
Zodiac Sign:	uh... virgo?
What Do You Drive:	2010 Cadi SRX
Screenname:	N/A
{---Favorites---}
Color:	pink & green
Number:	34
Band:	lots
Music Genre:	all kinds
TV Show:	Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Accidentally on Purpose, Fringe...
Movie:	Back to the Future!
Actor:	Christian Bale
Actress:	Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Anniston
Kind of Movie:	Comedy
Cartoon:	Woody the Woodpecker!!
Sport:	gymnastics, football
Fast Food Restaurant:	Chik-fil-a
Food:	currently craving Thai!
Ice Cream:	sweet cream ice cream w/ strawberries & gummi bears!
Cereal:	Lucky Charms
Candy:	sour patch watermelon
Drink:	apple juice
Alcoholic Beverage:	appletini or rum&sprite
Quote:	lots
{---Do You---}
Have any siblings:	older sis
Have any pets:	2 mutts and a beta
Have a job:	nope!
Have a cellphone:	of course!
Have any special talents or skills:	nunchuck skills...
Have any fears:	my face under water... don't ask.
Have a bedtime:	nope
Sing in the shower:	yes
Want to go to college:	want to finish, yes
Get along with your parents:	yes
Have any piercings:	ears
Have any tattoos:	nope
Swear:	not so much
Smoke:	NEVER
Drink:	socially
Do Drugs:	NEVER
{---Love & All That Crap---}
Ever been in love:	there.
Ever cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend:	NEVER
Are you single:	most certainly NOT!
Are you in a relationship:	married of course!
Do you have a crush on someone:	my hubs?
Ever been dumped:	duh
Ever dumped someone:	yup
{---This or That---}
Fruit or Vegetable:	fruit
Black or White:	black
Lights On or Lights Off:	on
TV or Movie:	movie
Car or Truck:	car
Cash or Check:	debit?
Rock or Rap:	uh...
Chocolate or Vanilla:	vanilla
French Toast or French Fries:	both please!
Strawberries or Blueberries:	strawberries
Cookies or Muffins:	muffin
Winter Break or Spring Break:	summer!
Hugs or Kisses:	hugs
{---Have You Ever---}
Danced in a public place:	duh
Smiled for no reason:	yessss
Laughed so hard you cried:	yup
Talked to someone you don't know:	uh huh
Drank alcohol:	yeah
Done drugs:	NO sireee!
Partied 'til the sun came up:	oh Vegas!
Gotten a ticket:	too many
Been arrested:	never
Been convicted of a crime:	never
Been in a wreck:	not while I was driving
Been out of the country:	yep!
{---Random & Silly Junk---}
Are you a virgin:	really?
Ever TP'd someone's house:	nope
Ever egged someone's house:	nah
How many languages do you speak:	1 1/2
Who do you compare yourself to:	Jesus?
Ever regret anything:	nope, just learn from it
Do you like being tickled:	soooo ticklish. but no one knows!
What are your goals:	finish college!
Are your fingers tired:	a little...
Are you tired of this survey:	yah
Are you happy:	sure
Take this survey \| Find surveys Pimp My Profile

Who Needs Kids?!

2010-05-20T12:30:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, I have two dogs. They are (99% of the time) the most enjoyable things on this planet for me (besides my hubs of course).

This morning was an example of that 1%.

Have you ever seen the website S#!t My Kids Ruined? If you haven't, you need to. If you have kids (or have spent lots of time with kids) it is a serious jaw dropper and you will just stare for hours with a half grin/half astonished face. (You know it can and does happen!)

If you don't have kids, or don't spend time with kids, you might be turned off for life. We are talking SERIOUS birth control here! ;)

Either way, I am beginning to think I need to start a "S#!t my DOGS ruined" site.

If only I had a camera to capture the many things throughout my life that have been ruined by my beloved dogs. We're talking 8+ pairs of shoes, a DOOR (yes, when Durango was younger he ATE THROUGH my bedroom door), a bathroom (Durango again... the hub's apartment before we were even married), the front steps of my mom's house, waaaaay to many toys to remember... the list goes on.

If I wasn't so suffocated by the smell this morning and in such a hurry to get it's cause out of the house, I would have taken a picture for you! (not that you would have actually wanted to see it!!)

Yes, Dallas is sick and, while IN his crate, puked, pooped (THREE TIMES!!!) and peed. In under 30 seconds. Yes. I heard him puking (the gaging sound... bleh!) and ran to the kitchen to get a plastic bag and paper towels and in the THIRTY SECONDS it took me to run there and back, the deed was done. OH MY WORD!!! I could NOT breathe!!!! And apparently, the smell also made Durango sick as he then proceeded to puke in HIS crate! (no they have not eaten anything out of the ordinary... as far as I know) So I opened all the doors and sprayed some febreeze and proceeded to clean up the mess... WHILE DURANGO DECIDED TO BOLT OUT THE BACK DOOR INTO THE JUNGLE BEHIND OUR HOUSE! Fortunately, he just went potty, came back and hung out in the house.... until I found a blood trail throughout the house. He broke a nail and trailed blood ALL over. Carpets, linoleum and hardwoods. So after putting the dog beds in the wash (on sanitize... think BOILING WATER!) I then got to walk all throughout the house with the pinesol and the oxy clean carpet cleaner wiping up the blood marks... yes, I put the dogs outside (on leashes) with water. I couldn't handle anymore. But to my splendor, (NOT) after cleaning up the blood, I looked out the window to see Dallas ROLLING in his poo. Thats right, more diarrhea outside. And ALLLLLL over him.

He still has poo on him. I will hose him off in a bit. But I needed to just sit and for ONE moment get away from this smell. What a great start to my day...

...and did I mention last night we hit a deer? yah.

Better Wife Wednesday

2010-05-19T06:00:00.005-04:00

So I thought that I would start a new segment on my blog.

Starting today (and on Wednesdays from here on out), I will be hosting Better Wife Wednesday.

<center><a href="http://karissathomas.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Better Wife Wednesday" src="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/assirak04/betterwifewednesday.jpg"/></a></center>

On Better Wife Wednesday, I will have a prompt or post for you from something that I am learning either in one of my marriage books that I am currently reading or from the greatest book ever the Bible! ;) Or I might post a prompt for you all to follow along! Either way, it will be something fun and exciting (and quite possibly rather sappy) about wifey-ness. :)

YOU get to choose if you would like to participate and if you DO, just snag my button and add it to the top of your Better Wife Wednesday post so it links back here for everyone to join! It's THAT simple!

To start us off, I thought I would post an excerpt from my hot pink journal that I wrote the night before the Hubs and I got married. At the time I had just finished reading "Sacred Marriage" by: Gary Thomas
It is a great weekly devotional that I would recommend to any married couple at any stage of marriage-- a quick and easy, enjoyable read. I bought it for my sister AND for my mom AND for one of my best friends from high school. And I will probably be posting some more from it as time goes on with Better Wife Wednesday. So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

To my future handsome husband,

Wow. To think we met in a club! And yah, I guess I kinda' did pick you up... but trust me, you were checkin' me out just as much as I was checkin' you out! :P Before I met you, I never believed in love at first sight-- and maybe it took me a few months to realize it, but I really did love you the moment I laid eyes on you. I can not imagine a greater, more amazing guy that I could possibly be more in love with than you!

I promise to love you with all of my heart for the rest of the days of our lives.

I promise to guard my heart from evil and keep God first.

I promise to thank God for you every day.

I promise to keep realistic expectations and to remember that you are just as human as I am.

I promise to "love mercy" (Micah 6:8).

I promise to be an "imitator of God" (Ephesians 5:1).

I promise to remember what attracted us and to be blind and accepting of shortfalls that may disappoint.

I promise to be a God-centered spouse-- that every thought I think, every word I utter, every decision I make, every movement I perform, is to flow out of one holy motivation: reverence for God.

I love you and I can not wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

Love, Karissa

So, in NO WAY am I claiming that I am always good at keeping remembering these promises... but a few months after the wedding I typed up this letter and printed it out. I now keep it in my Bible and read it whenever I am feeling frustrated (particularly after a fight) or whenever I could use some good 'ol remembering. ;)

Did you write a letter the night before your wedding? Or have you ever written out your promises? How do you put your marriage back into perspective after you've had a rough time? I encourage you to decide on your promises to your husband and keep yourself accountable to them! Post your promises to your husband along with my Better Wife Wednesdays button and send me a link! I would love to read it!

quick check in

2010-05-18T17:04:00.001-04:00

Well, I have been busy busy today making buttons!!! :)

It seems like each button gets better than the last!

(my apologies to the first button I made! haha!)

If you still want a button, but have not requested one yet, let me know!

Also, make sure you stop by tomorrow for a SUPER SECRET SURPRISE!!!

I have a new segment coming to my blog bright and early in the morning
and you DON'T want to miss it!!

Button Love

2010-05-17T14:34:00.005-04:00

I finally finished my button marquee :)

If I missed anyone, please comment with your button html.

Website Builder

If you do not have a button and would like one, contact me. :)

I have been having so much fun making stuff for my blog... but still want to make more! I will make you a button for free! Just e-mail me (karissa {underscore} thomas {at} hotmail {dot} com) with your button idea and the image you would like included (or no image if you just want words) and I would love to put something together for you. (be sure to write your blog name and the word "button" in the subject line).

Keep in mind: I am NO pro! I can not guarantee anything amazing, but if you want a free, simple button, I will make you one. :)

If, after I make your button and you decide you would like to "pay" someone, please donate to

the following fund for a wounded warrior of my hub's last unit:

DAN BERSCHINSKI FUND

The Hubs and I will be taking the trip to Peachtree City for the All American 5k on Memorial Day weekend in honor of Lt. Dan Berschinski. All donations are greatly appreciated. :)

**In no way do I intend to take credit for any of the buttons created or shown on this blog.
The only blog button that I take credit for is my own.**

I need your opinion.

2010-05-17T12:44:00.000-04:00

I have begun my 101 in 1001 (found HERE).

But I have come to a discrepancy.

[030] go 2 weeks without buying something non-essential (essentials=groceries, gas, etc.) (?/14)

I am not sure if I am on day 5/14 or if I need to start over again...

You see, yesterday I bought new running shoes. And running shoes are most definitely NOT groceries, gas, etc. BUT! Running shoes ARE essential! And in this case, new running shoes were essential!

I have been running in some running shoes that I have had for well over a year. And while they were great for the first 6 months, they have been worn long past their mileage quota and were really starting to hurt me. (think shin splints, aching arches, pain in my knees...) They were done. AND with our first 5k together coming up in (now) less than 2 WEEKS!!! (12 days to be precise) I NEEDED NEW RUNNING SHOES!

So the question remains: were my new, beautiful, insanely comfortable, feel-like-I'm-running-on-air, no more shin splints, achy arches or knees running shoes ESSENTIAL or NON-ESSENTIAL?

...and in case you are wondering what amazing shoes I have purchased? These are the Asics GT-2150. I am a mild to moderate overpronator who runs both road and trail and puts a fair amount of miles on my shoes... about 12-18miles/week. I have mid- to high- arches and about average width feet. These are my first pair of Asics and they ROCK.

I suppose if they are voted non-essential it's no big deal... it's only 2 weeks of non-essential purchases and I have like 987 days left (or something crazy like that... I really didn't count)

RanRam Blog Hop

2010-05-14T23:31:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I'm Karissa :)

I'm a 20-something wife of an Army officer currently stationed in Georgia but living in the-middle-of-nowhere, Alabama. The hubs and I have two mutts, enjoy mountain biking, watching movies, BBQing and hanging with friends. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to check out my blog :) On the tabs at the top you can find About Me, my Life List, and a few other things as well as past blog posts in my archive on the bottom right.

While you're here, grab a button (on the top left) and come back for more soon! I'm planning a new segment to come on Wednesdays! Stay tuned for further updates!!

I look forward to finding some great new blogs to follow! :)

YAY FOR THE WEEKEND!!!!

Sweet Blog Award

2010-05-14T16:58:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Kaylee @ Small Wonders

Staci @ Random Ramblings of a Military Wife

I am the proud winner of a Sweet Blog Award!!

Now it's my turn to pass it on to some other ladies with blogs that I think are pretty sweet ;)

Please check out their blogs if you haven't already!

1. Bethany at A Southern Belle & Her Officer

2. lola at alis volat propriis

3. L.C. at Faith & Deployments

4. SarahEileen at Faith, Hope and Love

5. Lexi Stepps at Ginger Snapped

6. Amber at Goodnight moon!

7. Dana at Happy Life as an Army Wife

8. Young Mom/Wife at I Took the One Less Traveled by...

9. Noel at Issued To A Soldier

10. CLR at life's a dance you learn as you go

I tried to find blogs that did not already have this award,

but if you got it again, then I guess you're just EXTRA great! :)

Notice anything different?

2010-05-13T14:48:00.003-04:00

Thanks to:

I have figured out how to do all KINDS of new fun things on my blog!

I changed my header with new fonts,

added a new button,

a signature,

and I ALSO figured out how to

change fonts of titles, dates & sidebar headers,
and go 3-column thanks to:

so what do you think? :)

Anyone know how to change the font on my linked page titles at the top of my blog?

101 in 1001

2010-05-12T17:38:00.002-04:00

I have seen a few of you ladies doing this and I felt inspired. ;)

You can already check out my LIFE list HERE... but the following list is a little more short term.

Here are 101 things that I would like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. You BETTER like it because it took me FOREVER to write!! Enjoy!

Start Date: May 12th, 2010

End Date: February 6th, 2013

italics are in progress.

crossed out means it is completed.

READING/EDUCATION

[001] read 5 marriage books (1/5)

[002] read the entire Bible. TWICE. (0/2)

[003] read 10 other books (0/10)

[004] enroll in a University/4 year college

[005] start taking college classes again

[006] decide on major

[007] complete my Bachelor's degree

[008] keep my cumGPA above 3.5

[009] get my Personal Training Certification

[010] read 10 books from Time Magazine's All Time 100 Novels

[011] expand my vocabulary by 100 words

MARRIAGE

[012] workout together 3x a week for 4 weeks (0/12)

[013] run a 5k together

[014] run a 10k together

[015] cook a meal together 1x/week for 4 weeks (0/4)

[016] learn a new skill/hobby together

[017] date night 1x/month for a year (0/12)

[018] read our Bible together every day for a month (0/30)

[019] golf an entire 18 holes with the hubs – without getting frustrated.

[020] spend a weekend in a Bed & Breakfast

[021] write a poem to my husband

[022] keep a journal and write a private letter to hubs at least 1x/week for a year (0/52)

FINANCIAL

[023] be debt free

[024] create a WORKING budget

[025] start an IRA

[026] contribute to IRA every year (0/3)

[027] increase savings account by at least $10,000

[028] clip coupons at least once a month for 12 months (0/12)

[029] save $100 on groceries from clipping coupons in 12 months ($0/$100)

[030] go 2 weeks without buying something non-essential (essentials=groceries, gas, etc.) (1/14)

FITNESS/HEALTH

[031] mountain Bike 5 new parks (1/5)

[032] run a 5k (signed up for All American 5k on May 28, 2010)

[033] run a second 5k and drop 3 minutes (time- )

[034] run a third 5k and drop 2 more minutes (time- )

[035] run a 10k

[036] go running 4x a week for a whole month (0/16)

[037] run 50 miles in 1 month (0/50)

[038] run 100 miles in 1 month (0/100)

[039] run a half-marathon

[040] take a multi-vitamin every day for a year (1/365)

[041] drink 64oz of water every day for 60 days (0/60)

CRAFTY

[042] learn how to sew

[043] take a ceramics/pottery class

[044] take a woodcarving/woodworking class

[045] make all mother's christmas gifts (0/4)

[046] make a quilt

[047] find a wooden piece of furniture and re-finish it

[048] celebrate something and make all the invitations

HOUSE

[049] buy new coffee tables

[050] find a way to throw out the hub's bachelor fake plant

[051] buy a king size bed

[052] buy a new bed spread

[053] buy a fully functional tool kit and relevant power tools

[054] buy a blender

FRIENDSHIPS

[055] write a letter/send a card to friends 6x/year (1/6)

[056] e-mail/talk to friends 1x/week for a year (1/52)

[057] host a bbq, game night or get together 1x/month for a year (0/12)

[058] go out to coffee or hang with a friend 2x/month for a year (0/24)

[059] make at least 3 new GOOD friends (0/3)

[060] have a MOM weekend. Just me and mom.

COMMUNITY

[061] renew CPR certification

[062] renew First Aid certification

[063] donate Blood

[064] volunteer at least 100 hours in a year (0/100)

[065] donate $1 (charity TBD) for every task I do not complete in 1001 days

TRAVEL

[066] visit 5 national parks (0/5)

[067] visit 5 state parks (1/5)

[068] visit 5 new states (0/5)

[069] visit 5 new beaches (0/5)

[070] travel to India- meet Hub's extended family

[071] San Diego to see Esther at least 1x/year

[072] Chicago to see Kimi at least 1x/year

[073] Seattle to see Family at least 3x/year (0/3)

[074] see the Grand Canyon

[075] go to Las Vegas (again)

[076] go to Disney World

[077] visit Jekyll Island

ORGANIZATION

[078] make and organize a recipe book

[079] organize all contacts, create address book

[080] organize office

[081] organize closet every 6 months

[082] donate clothes that don't fit

FOOD/BEVERAGE

[083] bake a pie from scratch

[084] decorate a cake for a party

[085] bake an angel food cake

[086] use my juicer 3x/week for 4 weeks (0/12)

[087] make a pizza from scratch (crust, sauce and all!)

[088] make dinner at home 4x/week for 4 weeks (0/16)

[089] eat a genuine GEORGIA PEACH!

[090] host Thanksgiving or Christmas at OUR house

FACE MY FEARS

[091] learn to swim with my face under water (fear of water)

[092] have my wisdom teeth pulled (just generally scared!)

[093] WATCH as I get my blood drawn (fear of needles)

RANDOM

[094] stop cracking my knuckles (0/100)

[095] train the dogs to come when called (EVERY time) (0/100)

[096] no TV for 60 days (0/60)

[097] write a letter to myself to open in 10 years

[098] don't complain about anything for a week (0/7)

[099] go to a concert

[100] buy something from Etsy

[101] no Facebook for a week (0/7)

Acclimatization, Dress-up & In-laws

2010-05-12T12:26:00.000-04:00

So I have been missing again because the In-Laws came to visit.

Do you ever feel cornered or like they are trying to make you feel guilty?

Do you ever feel like you are too loved?

ILs are tough. Especially coming from divorced parents. I already HAVE two moms and a dad and another guy (mom's bf). PLUS all the other adopted parents I have from while my parents were going through the divorce! (parents of good friends that filled in when my parents weren't quite there) I seriously have like 7 moms and 5 dads. And now add ILs. Yes, I love you! And I am SO grateful to you for making your son, my husband. And yes! I really really love him! (no matter how much we might fight) And I know that you really love him too! But, WE have only hung out about 5 times. I don't love know you nearly as much as I love know my family or quite as much as I love know my two VERY good best friends who have been there for me through THICK AND THIN and are also married to military guys and we now live in the three farthest corners from home and they both have new babies that I want to go meet! no you are not on the top of my list of people to go visit while the hubs is in ranger school next month through the end of summer. I only have so much money for flights around the country this summer and when I look at the list of priorities...

I PROMISE we will be home to see you for Christmas.

Yesterday afternoon, the ILs went back home.

we all survived.

It was great having them over to check out our house and the area.

So after the hubs got off work, I went with him to go golfing. (read: he golfed while I sat in the cart and kept him company and enjoyed the beautiful course.)

Have you ever noticed that boys have to dress-up for every different thing they do? Maybe THAT'S why our guys like the military so much!! I don't know about your man, but my hubs has a different costume for everything.

He wears a uniform for PT, a uniform to work (ACUs of course), a uniform for golf (dress pants & a polo), a uniform for the gym and working out (different from PTs), a uniform to be comfortable around the house (also different from workout clothes and regular clothes), a uniform to go "out" (dancing and bars and such), a uniform for everyday going "out" (going shopping or over to a friend's for a bbq).

You name it, he's got a special uniform for it!

Which also translates to a whole BUNCH of laundry.

Good thing I LOVE my washer and dryer!!!

On a side note, I am acclimatizing well down here in Georgia. :)

(read: I am cold at any temperature under 72 degrees)

But that thought gives me hope for summer here. We have had a few 90s days and it's not too uncomfortable! Hopefully when we reach full humidity and 1 million degrees I won't melt. ;)

Tatertots and Jello giveaways!

2010-05-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

Tatertots and Jello is having a mother's day extravaganza and giving away TONS of beautiful gifts!

Check out my favorite (but you're not allowed to enter 'cuz I wanna win!!! :P)

Madison Reece Designs Personalized Jewelry: $50 Gift Certificate

"Today Was a Good Day"

2010-05-06T01:13:00.000-04:00

Did you say that in your "Ice Cube" voice? HA! just joking...

...not really. I totally did. :)

We explored Providence Canyon State Park today!

It was SOO cool! :D I went by myself on Easter and just walked around the top for a few minutes, but today we hiked DOWN INTO the canyon! Pretty cool. :)

AND we took LOTS of pictures!

...but unfortunately the hubs packed some Pepsi's in the backpack along with the camera... and then one of the Pepsi's decided to explode and leak alllll over the backpack (and my back) and ruin the camera. :( So we are reeeeally hoping that the camera dries out over night and works again tomorrow... (PRAY!!!)

But other than the camera fiasco, it was a goooooood day.

Have I told you lately that I LOVE my hubs? :) We are definitely getting better at this marriage thing. :)

We had a "discussion" tonight that DIDN'T TURN INTO A FIGHT!!!!! SO EXCITING! (ha! baby steps folks! give us some slack!) The last few months we haven't even been able to talk about what to have for lunch without it blowing up and getting out of control. :( But tonight we had a pretty heated discussion WITH NO FIGHTING! We haven't been able to do that since we were dating! (man this sounds awful...) But the point is, it's getting better. We had some hurtful times, and I think we are finally putting it behind us for good and moving on. I know it's not always going to be easy. At times it's going to be pretty darn hard. We've had a few of those moments. But I just want to say, that I am really looking forward to the many years to come. And THAT is why it was a good day. :)

This photo does not give the canyon justice.. but I found an AMAZING photo @ cameraartist.com/ index.php?showimage=253 that you should check out! (I was afraid of copyright stuff, so just look at it there!)

Playing & Learning

2010-05-04T22:42:00.002-04:00

When we were little, we learned through play. We learned how to play with others; how to share; how to make friends; how to wait our turn; how to talk to friends, adults, teachers, strangers; how to listen; how to play fair; how to clean up; how to say sorry. We learned coordination, balance, awareness, kindness, patience, respectfulness.

When did we forget all that great stuff? Maybe we just need to keep playing in order to remind ourselves!

I think my marriage could use a little more playtime!

(and not that kind you pervs!!) :P

For the rest of the week, I am going to make a special effort to play with my hubs every day.

Maybe some one-on-one basketball? Some farkle? Mario Bros?

What do you and your hubs play together?

Today I also played around with the camera. I did some google-ing and learned the basics and some cool settings on our camera. Here's a little sampling of me playing with the camera. Feel free to enjoy my handsome mutts. Aren't they totally photogenic?? :D

Doesn't that face just make you feel loved?

I LOVE those big brown eyes!

PLAY TIME!

Photography Envy

2010-05-03T17:47:00.000-04:00

As I have been checking out more and more blogs I am discovering that my iPhone doesn't take the greatest pics... ;) I am SO JEALOUS of all of the incredible photography skills that so many of you ladies have!

HELP ME OUT!!! I want to learn!!!

The hubs has a Canon PowerShot S5 IS. ...not that I have ANY idea what that means... ha!

Are there any great "intro to photography" or "how to be an amazing photographer" blogs I should know about? How did YOU get started with photography? Any quick tips?

MilSpouse Blog Hop

2010-05-02T23:34:00.001-04:00

In honor of all of my new followers (and the prospect of MORE!) I thought I would join in on the MilSpouse Blog Hop hosted by

If you want to learn more about me and my blog you can check out my buttons at the top (my Life List or About Me or by checking out my older blogs located in my archive on the bottom right hand side. A Photos tab is also in the works) However, to save you some time, here is a short bio about me :)

I grew up in Seattle, WA spending lots of time playing outside (even in the rain!), going to a private christian school, spending 4 days a week at church and playing soccer, softball, gymnastics, dance, track and cross country. My parents got divorced when I was in 6th grade and a few weeks after I turned 16 and got my license my mom moved out with her new boyfriend. You could say I grew up pretty quick.

Straight out of high school I attended the University of Washington planning to become an architect. I took one architecture class and decided I hated it... switched to Mechanical Engineering which I LOVED, but then decided boys were more important at the time. (stupid me!) Spent about two years working two to three part time jobs at a time while I "discovered me" and left God behind. Not a good choice. But my Awesome God still loved me and placed me in a WONDERFUL nanny position with a really great family. I was back in school and hanging with good friends and family.

On June 21, 2008, I met this really hot army guy who could really dance in a club in Seattle.

The night we met.

Six months later he proposed and four months after that, on April 18th, 2009 we got married. :)

He deployed for a short time after only three months together and as soon as he got back we moved to Fort Benning, GA. We are currently living on the Alabama side waaaaay out in the boonies (as in the nearest grocery store is 30minutes away) but I absolutely love it! (most of the time ;)

We have two mutts. Durango- a 3 year old pointer/dane mix
& Dallas- a 6 month old yellow lab/pointer mix.

We love to go mountain biking, dancing, watch movies, bbq, cook Indian food, and workout. He loves golf and I love hiking, camping and exploring new places... even though I don't particularly like golf and he doesn't particularly like my outdoorsy stuff, we still spend a fair amount of time doing it together. :)

We are finally getting the hang of being married, but it's a constant process and we definitely have our ups and downs. ;)

Rena's "healthy" cookies

2010-05-02T22:14:00.000-04:00

Okay... maybe that's not what they're reeeeeally called ;) My 6 year-old niece, Rena, calls these her healthy cookies and they kinda are! Besides the cup of butter and the cup and a half of sugar... ;) But they are REEEEALLY GOOD!!! So I thought I should pass them on. :)

My husband was a little hesitant at first when he found out they had carrots in them, but he just finished off a plate of 6 in about 40 seconds flat. :)

Next time I make these, I think I will be adding more raisins (because I LOVE raisins! ...and they kinda ran out when I got to the end of the cookies...) and maybe a little less butter ;)

CARROT FRUIT JUMBLES

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

1 cup quick oats (not instant)

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrot (2 medium carrots)

½ cup crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup raisins

½ cup shredded coconut

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In your large bowl with an electric mixer, blend the sugars. Add the butter and mix until it sticks to the mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until fluffy at medium speed. Add the carrots, pineapple, walnuts, raisins and coconut. The batter will be nice and lumpy.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, soda, powder, cloves, cinnamon, salt and oats.

Slowly pour in the flour mixture to the batter on low.

Scoop by teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes.

Immediately transfer to a cool, flat surface.

I got a Blog Award!

2010-05-01T18:41:00.000-04:00

I don't really know what it actually means to get a blog award... but nonetheless it's really exciting to get one!!! :)

I was given this award by Kellee Lyn @ You + Me = Wiiiii It has been a lot of fun for me to read her blog because we have so much in common :)

The rules of this award are:
1. To put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
3. Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
4. Share the love and link the person who gave you the award

Here are the chosen 12...

1. Abigail @ Abigail's Day
2. Amy @ A(my) to (bushat)Z
3. Lindsay @ By Your Side
4. Mrs. P @ A Little Pink in a World of Camo
5. Dana @ Happy Life as an Army Wife
6. The Jenkins Girls @ The J Crew
7. Rebecca Runs Sometimes @ THE FINISH LINE
8. Amanda @ Trying my best to be a Proverbs 31 woman
9. Birdie @ Soldier's Lady
10. Amber @ The Survival Guide For The Young, Fabulous & Newlywed
11. Jessica @ Me, Him and The Army
12. Amber @ Goodnight Moon!

To You,

2010-05-01T15:39:00.000-04:00

It seems like every time I log in to blogger I have a new follower! Can I tell you HOW EXCITING THAT IS!? :)

I'm fairly new to this blogging thing and never imagined I would have followers that I have never even met before! It definitely makes blogging a lot more fun knowing I'm not just writing to myself. :) And your comments and encouragement are so appreciated!

So, THANK YOU!

If you are a new follower, please make sure you comment and leave me a link to your blog so I can follow you too!

I'm Back!

2010-05-01T15:35:00.000-04:00

I know, I've been a little MIA... but it's for a good cause!

I WENT HOME!!!! :D

I spent an entire week back home in WA with the fam. And it was WONDERFUL. Shared a bedroom with my 6 year-old niece, drank LOTS of coffee (at least two cups a day!), ate lots of ice cream, cake and pie, enjoyed lots of chat time with the sis, watched the nieces at gymnastics, and just enjoyed HOME.

No matter what you say or what you do, WA will ALWAYS be my home.

That's not to say wherever I go with the hubs isn't OUR home! We already have lots of our things which say home to me, but on top of that, wherever I go with my hubs, HE makes it home. (I know, corny right? ...sorry!) But honestly, no matter how much we argue, I wouldn't want to argue with anyone else! Seriously. As mush as we sometimes fight, no one else would be worth it!

Back to the nitty gritty.

Prior to heading back to WA, I was pretty depressed. Really. I mean, I was totally unhappy when I really should have been the most happy! I really just was not myself. I apologize for the last few posts... they were MAJOR downers. But thank you so much for your encouraging comments! I discovered that I was being way too hard on myself... Reading Debi's "Created to Be His Help Meet" was really convicting and enlightening in terms of showing me where I was going wrong and how I could be better... but was turning into me just cutting myself down and feeling entirely and completely inadequate as a wife. Which was REALLY NOT HELPING. Now, I'm not saying the BOOK was not helping... but rather the way I was looking at and interpreting the book was not helping...

Sometimes all I need is a little vacation and some perspective. I could have friends and family telling me all the same thing, but until I just GO AWAY and EXPERIENCE it, it's not going to do any good. I am too stubborn to just listen and believe you automatically! Ask any of my good friends or family... I'm stubborn. ;) I know, it's something I need to work on... I really could save myself so much frustration and trouble... but I promise I'm getting much better where it's most important - with the hubs.

Also, I'm promising a little more uplifting blogging. ;)

How do you regain perspective? Besides your current "home" where is Home for you?

Anniversary Weekend...

2010-04-19T14:37:00.000-04:00

was INCREDIBLE. The hubs gets an A+++

He had the whole weekend planned out full of surprises. All kinds of little things that I had mentioned in passing over the last year and big things too! I am so blessed to have such a great hubs!

So then why was I grumpy and depressed? Did I want to be a sourpuss on our anniversary weekend? HECK NO!!!! So why couldn't I avoid it? :( I definitely get a D- for the weekend. I feel awful.

Here's the rundown of the weekend:

Friday afternoon the hubs came home from work and packed and we were out the door for a weekend in Atlanta. We dropped the mutts at boarding and got some milkshakes at Sonic and headed north. We arrived at our INCREDIBLE 4 star hotel in Buckhead, checked in and went out to walk around. Found a nearby mall, did a little window shopping, got some coffee, etc. (Oh how I have MISSED a REAL MALL!!) Then walked the streets some more, watching a beautiful sunset until we found a hidden little Thai restaurant. WHICH WAS AMAZING! I ordered pineapple chicken which they served in a hollowed out half pineapple! IT WAS SOOO GOOD! After, we walked back to the hotel, go into a heated debate (about something i don't even remember!) and the hubs fell asleep. After all, he HAD been up since 0500. But since I was not that tired... I instead got grumpy. :( I feel like such a brat. And that is NOT a good feeling. I tried running it out on the treadmill. Although that usually helps, it didn't. Instead I was grumpy and I sabotaged myself. :( Didn't sleep a wink until about 0730. Spent the night feeling frustrated and annoyed instead. I hate it when I do that. I just wish I could make myself stop.

Saturday morning we were up at 0800. Then off to surprise #1. Of course I was still grumpy. Way to go self. Way to ruin everything. The hubs got coffee and took me for a COUPLES MASSAGE. (please keep in mind, he doesn't really like professional massages and the only time that I EVER mentioned ANYTHING about wanting to get a couples massage was ONCE on our honeymoon when we were walking the beach in Waikiki.) Massage relieved some of the grumpiness and I really tried to throw it out. I thanked the hubs. He really is great and put SO much thought into this weekend! I was really amazed! After the massage came surprise #2- the Atlanta Aquarium and ice cream. (those of you who don't know me, I LOVE ICE CREAM!) He is not an aquarium kind of guy, but I had heard the aquarium was awesome and have been hinting at that one since we found out we were moving to GA. By now I was over the grumpiness of last night. i thought... then we went back to the hotel and got ready for our fancy dinner. (I bought this amazing dress back in like September? and haven't had an occasion to wear it yet. so I told the hubs, if we did NOTHING for our anniversary, all I wanted to do was go SOMEWHERE that I could wear my dress.) He found this hole in the wall type restaurant with the best chefs in the Southeast. The food was AMAZING. You know when you bite into something and you just let it sit in your mouth for a while as you sigh because it it SO INCREDIBLE?! That is how EVERYTHING tasted!!!!! OMG. So you would think that SURELY, I was done with being grumpy, right? I wish. :( On the way back to the hotel, we came across yet another heated topic. :( another topic I don't even remember. And night number 2 of greatest weekend ever = ruined. Chalk it up- me 2, hubs 0. I am officially ruining our weekend. i feel like crap. once again up until 0200. ran stairs this time. 22 flights about 4 times. generally running it off works. why didn't it work this time?!

Sunday, we packed up and headed home. I was certain the hubs hated me. I sure did. Why would ANYONE like me right now? WHAT is WRONG with me!?!? Instead, he STILL took me to surprise #3- 6 Flags over Atlanta. I LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS!!!! The Hubs HATES them. And yet he STILL went on FIVE coasters with me!

I am so blessed to have such a patient and amazing hubs. After chatting this morning with a friend, (you know they are a TRUE friend when they can just TELL you that you are being stupid-- thank you!-- it's true.) I know what I need to do. The tricky part is doing it. It's time to leave my pitty-party and start getting thankful. It's time to move on from the fact that I have left everything I know behind and just embrace this new life because I am WITH my HUSBAND. It's time for me to quit trying to be in control of my life and let God take over. It's time to appreciate my hubs a million times more than I do now. It's time, it's time, it's time. Time to BE a better wife. Here I go.

A Good Marriage- Good for your health?

2010-04-16T10:04:00.006-04:00

I have the NY Times app on my (much loved) iPhone and I often check out the popular news of the day (as well as any important updates). Today, I came across an article on the effects of marriage on our health and was intrigued. It is very long, but also very good. Check it out:

From The New York Times:

Is Marriage Good for Your Health?

What the research shows about the relationship between relationships 
and physical well-being.

http://nyti.ms/9fcm5H

What goes up, must come down.

2010-04-15T18:24:00.002-04:00

I was working on this really great blog earlier today... and maybe I will finish it and post it later... but I had to stop mid-way to go to the dentist for a cleaning. And then when I got home, the hubs was home.

Can you just tell me ONE thing?

WHY do the biggest fights stem from the stupidest (I don't care if it's not a word...) things?!

And why is it, that the greater the day before was, the harder and farther the fall is down when you have another fight?

It's really frustrating. And incredibly disheartening. I'm sure our first year of marriage has been no exception to the rule... but it has been really really hard. And every time I think that we have reached the turnaround point and it's looking up, we just fall twice as hard and twice as fast.

I just want so badly to have a better marriage. I want so badly to be a happy little old lady holding my handsome hub's hand 50 years from now. NOT this stupid arguing. I don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting over dumb things! I just want it all to stop! And every time I think it's done with, it just gets ten times worse.

How do you avoid fighting? Am I the only one having the hardest time ever with this marriage thing?

I know I'm not very good at this, and I'm trying to be better. I know I have a lot to work on, but does this ever get easier?

...drum roll please!!!!

2010-04-14T00:04:00.001-04:00

And the big anniversary surprise WAS...............

a) a new set of golf clubs

b) a trip to the Bahamas

c) a boudoir photo shoot

What's your guess?!?!?! :D

answer: C!!!!

Yikes! I was SO nervous!!! I had just told Abigail a week or two earlier about how I "could never do something like that" and THAT was just talking about pregnant shots showing belly skin! AND WHAT DID I TURN AROUND AND DO!?!?! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

But I'll be honest, it wasn't that awful! Now, I'm going to tell you straight up, there were NO nakey shots okay! At all times I was wearing a top and a bottom. And I had a FEMALE photographer. And although I thought I was going to be really nervous and shy, she made me feel just about as comfortable as I could. And the photos turned out AMAZING! I was shocked.

The photographer's name is Jannelle. She and her husband (he did not come with!) are the photography/videography team of Darling Studios Photography based out of Atlanta, GA and WOW! If you EVER need a wedding photographer, kid photographer, pet photographer, boudoir photographer, SHE IS YOUR GAL! She has such a great eye for detail and is SO sweet. :) She really made this nerve-racking ordeal quite fun! :) And I am looking forward to some other reason to have her take some more pictures again!!

And in case you were wondering, the hubs loved his surprise anniversary gift. ;)

Something I NEVER thought I would EVER do!

2010-04-13T16:41:00.000-04:00

I have been putting together a surprise gift for the hubs for our anniversary... something I thought I would NEVER EVER DO!!!!! but I did it! (yikes!!!)

go ahead, make a few guesses. ;)

I will unveil to you AFTER I gift to the hubs.

oooooooooooo! don't you just LOVE surprises!?!?!?!?

Review - some good words for thought

2010-04-11T17:50:00.000-04:00

As I was reviewing Debi today, I came across multiple phrases that I had underlined - deeming them things that I would like to remember and act on. Here is a sampling:

-"God made you to be a help meet to your husband so you can bolster him, making him more productive and efficient at whatever he chooses to do. YOU have no authority to set the agenda."

-"Proverbs 17:22, 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' ....A merry heart is very good medicine. It is a love potion."

-"Marriage is not fair. ...Yes, he is wrong, but your response... will certainly lead to the destruction of your marriage."

-"No man has ever crawled out from under his wife's criticism to be a better man-- no matterhow justified her condemnation."

-"Your husband is going to love what is lovely to him."

-"God stands with you when you stand by your man, but you will stand alone if you insist on standing by your rights."

-"Discontentment is not a product of circumstances; it is the state of the soul."

-"Thankfulness is how you think; joy is the abundance it produces."

-"Our delight in each other did not happen because he is the perfect man, or because he "loves me like Christ loves the church," or because he is "sensitive to all my needs." It did not happen because he takes the trash out, or cleans up after himself, or has always made a good living, providing me with all the things most women take for granted. ... It happened and continues to happen because of the choices I make every day. ... Every day, I remember to view myself as the woman God gave this man."

-"...we each made a commitment (independently) to please and forgive the other no matter how hurtful the actions or words that were spoken."

-"And [God] asks you to be a bride to your husband, just as he is. When a weak sister fulfills her divine purpose of being a true help meet, it brings great glory and joy to God."

-"Women who have difficulties in their marriages usually follow their feelings and just react. But you must stop trusting your hurt responses..."

-"It was nothing short of [the Holy Spirit] that enabled me to understand the destructiveness of taking personal offense when my husband did things that seemed unfair, selfish, or harsh."

Bikinis Help. ;)

2010-04-11T16:30:00.000-04:00

We bought our first lawnmower today. We are really settling in to this HOUSE thing. We are realizing more and more everyday that we have significantly outgrown the idea of ever living in an apartment ever again. (YAY!!!)

I asked Ash if he needed any help putting the lawnmower together and of course in his manliest voice, he answered "No. I got this." I could see that the male ego was in control of this yard work thing (at least for today) and so I let him soak it up. ;) In the spirit of being a good wife I brought him water (no lemonade today) and about half way through when he was DRIPPING sweat and stopped for a short break I asked if it was my turn to try out the mower. Thankfully he was still feeling macho and I didn't have to. :) So, I took the opportunity to soak up some sun! I put on my tanning bikini (the one for tanning in the back yard and not for being seen in by anyone other than the hubs) and I grabbed my Bible and hid out in the back yard under the sun. Can I just say, I LOVE ALABAMA! This sun is AWESOME. :) Although, check back with me in about two more months when I am dying of heat and humidity...

I'll be honest, I caught him checking me out at least five times. It feels kinda good knowing your hubs still can't keep his eyes off ya! ha! :P

Another way to be a better wife? Make DELICIOUS FOOD!!!! My sister sent me this recipe and it is GOOD. :) I made it the other night and Ash even asked for it for lunch today (despite the fact that it was a leftover!!!) Here it is:

SALSA STOUP

3 sections garlic chopped

½ large onion chopped

2 pieces celery chopped

15oz can black beans drained

1 ½ cups frozen corn

14oz can Italian stewed tomatoes

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

14 oz can chicken stock

12.5 oz can Costco chicken broken up with a fork

1 cup cheddar/Colby jack cheese (what ever you have)

Montreal steak seasoning

Red pepper flakes

Oregano

Cilantro (I didn’t have any… but it would be good)

Mexican sour cream

Corn tortillas

Shredded mozzarella cheese

To make the stoup:

Spread some olive oil in a medium to large soup pot and add the garlic, onion and celery and cook at med-high heat for a few minutes. Then add the tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil then turn to a simmer. Add the chicken, black beans, corn and seasonings and stir. For the seasonings I just sprinkled them on the top of the soup… add as much as you want.

Let the stoup simmer for about 20 minutes… it is already done… and add the cheese… stir it every couple minutes.

Garnish with a dollop of the sour cream and cilantro if you have it.

To make the quesadillas:

Put two tortillas on a pan or flat griddle on med- high heat and cover with the mozzarella cheese… let cook about 5 minutes… put another tortilla on top and flip until both sides are lightly golden. (You will have to turn the heat down as you make more so they don’t burn.)

Cut into sections and serve with the stoup for dipping.

It also helps to serve the leftovers in a bikini. ;)

Practice makes perfect

2010-04-08T21:43:00.000-04:00

So this morning I was awakened at 5:30am by the hubs getting ready for work and Dallas whining because he needed to go out. And I thought to myself (although I am not sure how ANY thought occurred in my mind at such an ungodly hour) "this would be a good time to show my husband how good of a wife I can be!" and so, I did what Debi told me to do, or what Abigail and I decided would be a good action based on the concepts Debi tells us about in her book, which was to ASK my husband if there was anything I could help him with. Which he was really in a hurry to get out the door to work and so it was clear that he might need help with SOMETHING about getting ready to go... but in all honesty, I was really tired and I'm not even sure I was really fully awake and really I hoped he would say something wonderful like, "oh no, my beautiful wife, you can just go back to bed!" but that is not what he said. that is not what he said at all. He asked me to make him breakfast and lunch. Well, okay, I can handle that! That is a good wifely task! I shall help you with that! So I did! And I even wished him a good day with a semi-cheery "I love you!" and everything! And I was SO proud of myself! SEE!? I AM a good wife!!!! but then, he RUSHED out the door to work. And that was that.

And suddenly I was really frustrated and incredibly annoyed that he did not NOTICE all my greatness that I had done for him! HOW RUDE! and I frumped myself back to bed and huffed and puffed all about how I should have gotten SOMETHING out of that! I woke up and I HELPED him! HOW could he not shower me with thanks?!

And then I was feeling (again) very convicted. AS I SHOULD HAVE! I did not help him to get praise! I helped him because I love him. And because we are a team and teammates HELP each other. THAT is what they do! They sometimes just TAKE one for the team. And really, I wasn't going THAT much out of my way... I mean, *I* get to go back to sleep again after the ungodly wake up time! HE has to go to work and stuff! And so then I felt ok that he rushed out the door. I mean, besides, he was running late! And it was early anyway! He probably wasn't any more conscious than I was!

And LO AND BEHOLD! Later that morning I received a wonderful text message saying "thank you for helping this morning" and then everything was again, right in the world. :) He HAD noticed and I was just overreacting and being a brat (like I am all too often...) and so,

LESSON OF THE DAY: he REALLY DOES notice when I help him out, whether he voices it immediately or not. And actually, the REAL lesson is that I should not be doing things for the recognition ANYWAY! I am his teammate, his partner, his helper and wife.

God knew before I was even conceived in my mother's womb that someday I would marry Ash and he CREATED me to be ASH'S helper. To quote Debi Pearl, I serve God by serving my husband. Because even the Bible says, in Matthew 25:34-40

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Also, a fun thought, even when our husbands DON'T notice, GOD does :) check out Hebrews 6:10

¹⁰God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

And so the point of all that, and to tie in the title, I need more practice at this "good wife" thing. While my heart is getting there, my head needs to catch up. The end. :)

I'm not the only one!

2010-04-07T15:52:00.000-04:00

So I was wondering today how many other wives are on the same journey as me... trying to be a better wife. (I'm sure EVERY wife is... but I mean specifically online.) So I googled. :) (I love Google by the way. It always solves ALL of my queries.)

I thought I would find other blogs about said topic, but I first came across TONS of links to OTHER sources about "how to be a better wife." So I thought I would check them out first. :)

First, we have MSN's version of 10 Steps to Being a Better Wife. I must say, their list wasn't too far off! Their Top 10 includes:

1. Take care of yourself.

2. Say thank you, often.

3. Keep the romance alive.

4. Let him have "guy time."

5. Make your husband a priority

6. Don't try to change him!

7. Don't make him guess-- tell him what you want.

8. Cultivate friends and interests outside your marriage.

9. Let free time be free.

10. Believe in your husband and let him know it.

While I agree wholeheartedly with this entire list, I'm not so sure I would put it necessarily in that order and there are certainly other things I would like to add... like putting GOD in the picture!!! duh! I do also like how they also include a link to 10 Steps to Being a Better Husband. ;)

eHow also has a list- this time only 8. some are the same, some different... click HERE to check it out. Some of my favorites (read: one's I need to work on most)-

-Get off his back

-Forgive and FORGET

-Respect your husband in front of others and at home.

Check out Associated Content's "Seven Things You Can Do Today to Become a Better Wife" The highlight for me? the very last paragraph:

"When you find that you are making great strides in becoming a better wife, don't expect him to be a better husband. You may tell him about the things that bother you; however if he isn't willing to become a better husband, you are in this alone. Instead, you should secretly hope and pray that by him watching your positive actions, he will want to change. Remember change is a process it doesn't happen overnight."

And lastly, my favorite: a blog called "Grace Alone..." where she specifically talks about "Becoming a Better Wife..." I'm a fan. :)

So that's all for now. I am going to attempt to have dinner READY when he gets home! WOAH!

Being vs. Becoming

2010-04-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

So after I finished writing all that last night, I tried again to go to sleep... of course between the multivitamin craziness and my poor Durango and a certain puppy (Dallas!) who was wiggling around in his bed more than the kid in "Big Daddy" on his bed of newspapers... I did some more thinking. And since I was so excited about my new blog and our new marriage, THAT is what I thought about!

Thoughts drifted from what I will write about to things I will learn and situations I will encounter... I did a LOT of thinkin'!

Basically, I decided to keep my title of BEING A BETTER WIFE. I know, in reality, I am only BECOMING a better wife for now. But as I was thinking to myself, I decided that if I called it BECOMING A BETTER WIFE that that would leave me room for excuses. Because, BECOMING means I'm not there yet. I'm on my WAY, but if I mess up and I'm crappy again, it's ok because I'm not a better wife YET! So right then and there, I knew that I needed to keep it BEING, because BEING does not leave room for excuses of "I'm still learning" and "but I'm trying" because at this point, just TRYING isn't enough. I have to DO it. I have to BE a better wife. Not just try to be one.

Also, I decided that over the next 11 days before our 1 year anniversary, I will be giving background and talking a little about our past... and then AFTER our 1 year anniversary I will full on move into a new year and a FULL year of BEING a better wife. And then hopefully a year from NOW we will be a little closer to living "happily ever after."

Because I couldn't find the "I wet my bed" scene... here's the second best and ALSO another joy of having dogs...

Coming Soon!

2010-04-07T00:44:00.000-04:00

So, I am awake at this late hour (12:45am to be precise) for two reasons.

#1. When the MultiVitamin says "take with food," that means TAKE WITH FOOD. For one, all the vitamin C and stuff in there has me all hyped up like I just took ten shots of espresso. For two, my stomach and esophagus region are experiencing some serious burn. (don't worry, I am suppressing this with some peanut butter toast and a chocolate pudding cup)

#2. Durango has an upset tummy. Sick mutt = no fun for him and multiple trips outside rather frequently. (also no fun for me.)

So anywho... I was laying in bed trying to sleep because Ash has to get up in the morning and MUST sleep and it's really no fun sitting on the couch alone watching TV... but all this WIDE awake-ness was causing me to do a WHOLE bunch of thinking. And after thoughts trailed ALL over the place... I finally rested on the thought of blogging. And how I really don't blog much at all and how truly awful I am at being consistent about blogging. So I decided, much like Julie in "Julie & Julia," that I need direction in my blogging. Unlike some other really awesome people I know (read: Amy & Abigail) who are really good about blogging about just their lives in general and making it really interesting and fun to follow, I need a specific topic I think.

After much consideration (while standing outside with poor poor Durango) I decided to revamp my blog (coming soon) and focus on BEING A BETTER WIFE. This conclusion (although decided upon in about 10minutes) has really been forthcoming for quite a while! Let me explain.

#1. In only 12 days, Ash and I will have been officially married for 1 year.

#2. Abigail and I are reading a book called "Created to Be His Help Meet" by Debi Pearl which has so far proven to be incredibly convicting.

#3. In all honesty, by "convicting" I mean, it's showing me JUST how crappy of a wife I really am! And THAT needs to change. :(

#4. By "crappy wife" I mean, REALLY crappy and that REALLY needs to change. ASAP.

Read #1 and #4 together and realize that that's almost a WHOLE YEAR of me being a REALLY crappy wife. So I am going to attempt in my new and improved blog to blog almost everyday to keep myself accountable for the necessary changes I will be discovering and making. I will be ratting myself out when I'm crappy and sharing new things that I am learning. Not only will I be incorporating ideas from Debi, but more importantly the Bible as well as some other books I plan to study on Christian marriage.

My GOALS:

*ultimately, to have a Godly marriage

*to serve God by serving my husband- whether he deserves it or not!

*to live with thanksgiving, forgiveness, and joy

*to "stand by my man"

*to RESPECT and SUBMIT to my husband.

So be prepared for a new blog and better content than THIS.

Drama Free.

2010-02-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

So, in all reality, I haven't written a blog in FOR.EV.ER. Why you wonder? The truth is, there really hasn't been much going on lately! At least not much worthy of blogging about. (Hence the LAST blog was about being bored and typing without looking...)

No puppy drama. (potty training is going quite well and YAY! no more vet visits!!)

No army drama. (well... kinda but it's really just a waiting game so nothing exciting.)

No Alabama drama. (I am settling in nicely and actually kinda really like it! and ACTUALLY not missing family too terribly!)

and despite the fact that I DO INDEED HAVE FRIENDS, there is no friend drama either. :) (I had to reassure you that I really DO have friends here) :P

All in all, it's a good time.

I have been sticking quite well to my "workout every weekday in the month of February" resolution (with the exception of that one week when I was really sick...) I have made lots of new acquaintance/friends at the gym and in classes at the gym and I have been working out about 2 1/2 hours a day! (WOW!) with the exception of yesterday when I worked out for a cumulative of 4!!!!! Yah, woah is right. I worked out my typical 2.5 in the morning and then Ash came home from work and was like "wanna come to the gym with me?" and since, honestly I had nothing better to do (I was just sitting in the sunshine in the driveway drawing) I was like "SURE!" Woah. Tired. I fell asleep at 9:30 despite the fact that Ash was up doing homework until midnight. I feel a *little* bad about it, but not really. I worked out A LOT yesterday. I needed some sleep. Because, I had to do it again today too!!! (not going for the double time tonight though...)

BUT!!! EXCITEMENT IS COMING!!!!!! (HOORAAAY!)

My Dad & Jodi are coming! (Dad and his wife) They will be arriving at the Atlanta airport at 4:30pm on Friday and I am really REALLY excited!!! We will be doing lots of fun things while they are here like the Atlanta Aquarium and the Infantry Museum and visiting Eufaula and the Wildlife Reserve and looking at all the really pretty OLD houses and Jodi is going to teach me how to bake bread and basically all kinds of good things will be going on. I'm excited :)

writing without looking

2010-01-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

so, I am bored. my husband is studying... as he has been spending many evenings doing lately. and because I am bored, I am going to write an entire blog without looking. thats right folks. i am NOT going to look at the keyboard at all. OR the screen! I havent yet! how am I doing? I don't know I can't look.

so,,, on another note (still not looking) I am missing my family. rather a lot lately. nor like "im depressed" missing them... more like, I just wish I could be there to play with my nieces instead of hearing them playing over the phone. and I wish I could just jang out with my sis for like an afternoon or so. I do like it here in Alabama, dont get me wrong... I just also miss home and also miss familt. Im a family girl! I spent the last 23 years of my life SURROUNDED by damily and just deel a little awkward being away from them. granted, we talk on the phone QUITE frequently... I still miss them. a lot.

on a lighter note... how's my no looknig typing going?

also, update on the mutts: it's getting much better. tomorrow a dog trainer lady is coming over to help me out a little... hopefully shes worth it. well i will update tomorrow. gotta go set a recording on fringe for the hubby. and probably go lay in bed with my mutts. such is the exciting life in Alabama.... goodnight

Productive Day (with a helper or two)

2010-01-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

So, after all of this awful puppy sickness stuff, THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!

Dallas seems to be feeling MUCH better. He is only having to "go" about every hour and I have been able to shove him out the door JUST in time enough times to say that Operation Potty Training is back in effect.

So in celebration of once again having a puppy that does his business outside, I cleaned ALLLLLL the floors! Of course, I began with sweeping and was accompanied by a little helper who tried to eat the broom AS I was trying to sweep and then another little helper that liked to SIT in the little piles of dirt... needless to say, they ended up "helping" from their kennels. ;) And as frustrating as it initially was, can I just say how HAPPY I am to have these two little buggers?! For starters, I am NEVER bored anymore!!! Second, I am outside A LOT. Doing lots of walking and general just hanging out outside. I am planning to sit outside in the sun later this afternoon after I am done being productive and you know who will join me? My two cute mutts! :)

I know. You're thinking I must be bi-polar or something based on my LAST post about wanting to throw said cute puppy into the woods to be eaten by alligators. And yes, the thought crossed my mind too. But the truth is, no matter how AWFUL they can sometimes be, this never ending love thing is pretty nice. :) You could call me a fan.

So, for the rest of my day, I will be completing a checklist that Ash made for me last night including things like getting tax returns mailed to the right address and paying bills and making and sending a package to Sai (our little boy that we are sponsoring in India) as well as, of course, finishing cleaning the house. You know, lots of really important things that really need to be taken care of. So, I will do just that. Goodbye!

And just so you can understand how I am ABLE to blog with two dogs, here is photo proof. They are napping. Apparently being productive is a big task for them too.

and THIS is why!

2010-01-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

Ash and I had been talking about getting a puppy for like, MONTHS! But repeatedly I REFUSED to get a new puppy under certain circumstances.

Those circumstances being:

1. living in an apartment

2. prior to having to drive reeeeeeally far distances (like across the country)

3. from a breeder (just for obvious reasons... sad)

4. without a yard

AND NOW WE ALLLLL KNOW WHY!

I can't even begin to imagine having this constantly dripping puppy in a) an apartment b) MY NEW CAR ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY! or c) without a yard!

Honestly, this is hell enough. But any of those circumstances would simply make it ENTIRELY unbearable. Like, I already want to pull my hair out and throw this poor little dog into the woods to be eaten by alligators. (Don't worry, I would NEVER do that!) But OH man. If we were in an apartment?! or the CAR!? This poor little puppy would be dropped at the nearest humane society. I hate to say it, and I would like to think that I will NEVER give up a pet (as in I would never put myself in that situation to begin with-- a pet is a commitment) but holy gee wiz! That's all I have to say.

Parasites in my life

2010-01-12T20:36:00.000-05:00

So woah, two blog posts in one day! Yes, my husband is STILL playing army. And by "playing" I really mean playing. Playing Ultimate Football. Which is mandatory for Capt. Career Course?! ------- I'm going to bite my tongue regarding my thoughts on that topic and move right along....

So in light of all the "worm" talk today--which are really not worm-worms but actually parasites-- while doing my quiet time I found some parasites in my life. (poetic right?) That's right. I have these deeply rooted things that are messing up my joy! (and the joy of those around me) Stupid, silly things that I let get in the way of the REALLY AWESOME life that God has planned for me! (Much like these stupid, silly worms that are really ruining mine and Dallas' day)

Needless to say, there will be much de-worming going on over the next few days...

No such thing as a FREE dog.

2010-01-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

soooo.... it's been a busy new year! As I mentioned previously, we got a super cute new puppy. :) Now catch this timeline:

Saturday, January 2nd

*morning time* after weeks of discussing adding another dog to the family, we officially decide, NO it will not happen.

*6:00pm* Abigail & Brett come over for dinner :)

*8:30pm* Abigail & Brett head home after dinner

*8:31pm* Ash says, "Let's go pick up that puppy. RIGHT NOW!"

*9:30pm* New puppy is sitting in back seat headed home.

Sunday, January 3rd

*after church* Operation Potty Training commences.

Tuesday, January 5th.

* late afternoon* Ash comes home from work and takes puppy outside to continue Operation Potty Training. Puppy eats a MUSHROOM. Puppy begins to puke, shake and have SERIOUS diarrhea. IN my kitchen.

*6:00pm* Take puking puppy to vet.

*7:00pm* Return home with puppy who has camelback hump full of fluid to keep from dehydration.

Wednesday, January 6th

Operation Potty Training Success! No accidents!!!

Clean House- mopped ALL floors, washed all dog bedding.

Thursday, January 7th

*10:30am* Durango & Dallas to vet for Vaccinations.

*ALL NIGHT LONG* Puppy poops in kennel. Repeatedly. I wake up and have to clean kennel and bathe puppy. Repeatedly.

Friday, January 8th

Operation Potty Training Success! No Accidents!!!

Saturday, January 9th

Operation Potty Training Relapse. 3 accidents in one day.

Sunday, January 10th

Operation Potty Training Success! No Accidents!!!

*6:00pm* Pull up food and water. Dallas' tummy has to be empty for surgery.

Monday, January 11th

*4:00am* Ash's alarm goes off for work. Puppy is now WIDE awake, and thus, so am I.

*7:30am* drop off Dallas at Vet to be Neutered. YAY!!!

*afternoon* Walk with Abigail and Durango in beautiful Alabama sunshine. :)

*3:30pm* pick up Dallas at vet.

*5:00pm* Dallas whines while trying to go to the bathroom

*5:05pm* Dallas has to go to bathroom again.

*5:10pm* Outside AGAIN to go potty.

*5:15pm* again.

and so on every 5 min until about 5:30

*6:15pm* Dallas squats in the kitchen. It's not urine. It's blood.

Tuesday, January 12th

*4:00am* Awake again with Ash's alarm clock.

*9:30am* Dallas to the Vet. Urinary Tract Infection and Bladder Worms. (More on this later)

*RIGHT NOW* he is peeing in his kennel. I'll be right back...

....................................

So yah. The most EXPENSIVE free dog EVER!

OK, so today's vet visit- let's jump to the good part. The part where the vet has a catheter up his little business and nothing is coming out so she rips the catheter out (not even a LITTLE bit gentle! she seriously just RIPPED it RIGHT OUT! poor guy!) And what might be stuck in the end of that little catheter? A worm. A full on WORM. about a half inch long. The vet squeezes it out of the end of the catheter and puts it on her finger and in a reeeaaal Southern accent comes over to me, SHOVES her finger in my face and says, "Now ya'll see that right there darlin'? That's a WORM!"

......................

sorry, had to take another break... blood drips on the floor... yuck.

where was I? OH YAH! She TOTALLY shoved it in my face. It was pretty gross. (Abigail, be happy you didn't join in on this fun little excursion!) So then, the Vet googled. Because she had never heard of bladder worms before. (Hence her excitement about the worm...) So, come to find out, they can be cause by eating earthworms, which are found in dirt... AKA: something Dallas eats a lot of.

SO, the conclusion? Well, I don't have one yet. I am still constantly cleaning up drips of blood. I am confining Dallas to the kitchen (nice linoleum floors which are very easy to clean) and planning on making him some sort of makeshift fenced area outside. Because, lets look at the big picture here, Operation Potty Training is still in effect! and it would really only backfire to let him continue this "dripping" in the house. So, he's gotta do it outside. (and let's not forget that its really just gross in general.) We have ALL kinds of doggie pills in this house that will be taken over the next 2 weeks. These worms are supposed to clear up in the next 3 days which means the dripping should stop sometime in the next. 3. days.... REALLY NOT SOON ENOUGH!

So, pray for me.

Rather, pray for Dallas.

And pray for our checkbook after all of these Vet visits which don't really have an end in sight... :(

feeling RATHER annoyed with AT&T

2010-01-06T12:28:00.001-05:00

So, I had all of these plans to be REALLY productive today! I was going to get Dallas his shots, on my way out I was going to stop at a pet store and get his tags, I was going to also go to DEERS and get all of THAT business taken care of, OH! and let's not forget buying milk... because when I poured myself a bowl of cereal this morning and went to get the milk ONLY to discover it was SOUR! UGH! I hate that... no cereal for me... :( blah blah blah... but alas! Ash has Dallas' shot records with him. And I need them. And he has no phone service. So no matter how many times I call him, or how many voicemails I leave him about how I am TRYING TO BE PRODUCTIVE HERE! ...he is not going to answer. or get ANY of the multiple messages I have left for him. UGH!

WHY!? oh WHY must AT&T have no coverage here!?

I realize at one point in my life, there was no contacting someone at any given moment. You had to wait until they got home and got the message. There was no facebook, no cell phones, no text messaging. BUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE MADE MY LIFE SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT! I have become REALLY impatient! I LIKE this instant gratification stuff! AND THERE IS NONE OF THAT HERE!

*whining & whimpering*

Here, if I need milk, I have to get in the car and drive 15minutes to the RAINBOW FOODS which is really rather frightening... or I have to drive allllllll the way to the commissary-- which is actually the closest trusted food source-- which is 25minutes away! I realize, there are worse situations. I could be walking miles in this really cold weather or working in a sweat shop or any number of MUCH more terrible situations, but I am whining. Yes. I said it. I am spoiled. In Shoreline, the Safeway was only 1mile away. And if I was feeling too lazy, I could order my groceries on safeway.com and they would even DELIVER them to me for FREE THAT DAY!

HERE I can't even get a hold of my husband to ask him a question!

no, it's not the end of the world... I just have to get over it... and I promise, that will come sooner rather than later... in fact, I am already feeling better... I just reeeeeeeeally wish there was AT&T service out here.

Other than that, I really like my house. (just for the record)

And I am thankful for a really awesome dog (Durango) who tires out this CRAZY puppy we have (Dallas).

And I am also VERY thankful for this sunshine-- no matter HOW cold it may be outside. :)

New Year, New... EVERYTHING!?

2010-01-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

So, to be honest, I had almost forgotten about blogging until Abigail mentioned it to me! I have been resorting almost entirely to Facebook status updates... I think I will try to get back to blogging and a little less Facebook. Particularly after spending time with Ash's family and hearing from ALL kinds of people (people I didn't even know HAD fb) about how I "live on Facebook." ...soooooo... I think it's time to back off. ;)

But at the same time, I still have to vent and share SOMEWHERE!!!!

SO here I am :)

And P.S. - I GOT A PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!

**Amy, I know. I did not consult you. BUT I kept in mind all of the aforementioned criteria. I feel that the decision was originally well thought out and in reflection, a good decision. :P **

So here's the story: His name is Dallas. :) He is a pointer/lab mix. He is 12 weeks old. And he is your typical puppy. Teething. Not potty trained. High energy. But INCREDIBLY cute! (I will post a picture to prove this).

You see I'm not sure how serious the problem is yet... and I'm not entirely sure that it's a problem at all... but I feel like we have been rather impulsive lately. It started the day Ash came home. The first thing we did was go to the mall and buy his iPhone. Then, a few weeks later we bought a new car. (Something I NEVER would have done!) And NOW we have brought home a puppy. AND bought an espresso machine. I am thinking that we have, at this point, bought everything we might possibly need or want for the next FIVE years!!!!!! and so I am hoping this impulsive buying thing has come to it's end.

In other news... Alabama life is pretty good. It's growing on me more and more. I REALLY like our house. :) Which is good, considering I live here. :)

Tomorrow I will go to Troy University to talk about their online Psychology degree. We'll see how it goes.

Everything I've ever dreamed or imagined

2009-11-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally here! (or should I say "HE") That's right, after the longest 3 1/2 months of my life, my husband has returned to me :) Everything I have hoped and prayed for is finally here! MY HUSBAND IS HOME!!!

....so what is wrong with me? I am so incredibly happy and grateful and GLAD (thank you Pollyanna!) ...but there is this part of me that is grumpy. And I hate it.

All I have wanted these past months is for him to be home and to share with me everything that is "married life" and now he is here and, frankly, it's really really hard. I know that it has only been a few days since he left Afghanistan... his friends... his unit... his job... there is a certain period of standard "adjusting time" where he gets used to living in a non-third-world-country and the time change and de-stressing and yadda yadda yadda... I can see wheels turning 'up there' constantly. I know what he is thinking about. I understand (as well as anyone who hasn't been there can). HE is adjusting just fine (it seems).

But then there's me. While he was gone, I had this other life and friends and a schedule. MY schedule. That revolved around what I wanted to do and when and where. I became very specific about how I handled things around the house and very specific about my time in general. I am a very habitual person and I got into my own little "coping groove" that helped me cope with the stress and loneliness that is a deployed husband. You might even say I became a little OCD about certain things around the house and certain things about my schedule. Certain things that are of zero REAL importance, but nonetheless became coping mechanisms and thus important to ME.

Well now, I am yet again SHARING my time and my space. Don't get me wrong!!!! I AM SO HAPPY HE IS HOME! I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT SHARING MY TIME AND SPACE and there is not another person in the world I would RATHER share my time and space with!!! I have been waiting for this moment for what seems like an eternity (although I know many of my friends are having and have had a much longer "eternity" than me... :( ) It is just the process of ADJUSTING that I am having a really hard time with... I know that "this too will pass" but gosh... it sucks. I just wish I could just kick myself and enjoy to the fullest all that is my husband... but alas, there is this person we call "me" who is holding me back. I can't imagine if my "eternity" had been a whole year. Certainly, God knows what each of us can and can't handle at any given time.

Life is not about me. I promise I'm not a spoiled, selfish, brat. I know that I should be loving on my husband. That I should be putting all of this behind me and be there 110% for HIM. I am really really trying. I WISH that he would tell me what those spinning wheels in his head are spinning about... it makes me a little sad that he doesn't think he can tell me... but maybe he's right. Maybe the things he is thinking about IS too much for me. I can't imagine the things he saw and heard and experienced. I can't imagine what he is really thinking. I want him to know that I am here. That whenever he wants to talk, I will listen. That I DO love him like crazy and I am SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL that he is here. I REALLY am trying to put "me" aside here... I am trying not to get frustrated by the human tornado that moves through my apartment multiple times throughout the day. THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW! but it's really hard...

When I tried to mentally prepare myself for him coming home it was so easy in my head to not care about all of my stupid "coping grooves." I knew that he was not going to be thinking about those things. He has bigger things on his mind. I KNEW this. "Give him time" I told myself. But sometimes I feel like he's not even here... he is still thinking about "there." And sometimes I feel like he still IS "there." Mentally at least. I can't even begin to imagine. I am trying to compare... like when I went to Mexico for 10 days! All I could talk about when I got back was, "When I was in Mexico..." I am sure it is very much the same thing, right? There is NOTHING wrong with that! But I guess I just wish he could tell me what he is thinking... where he goes when he just gets quiet for a bit... what "one time" is he thinking about and not saying when he's driving 10mph under the speed limit.

I can only hope...

2009-09-18T18:23:00.001-04:00

that people can say the same things about me when I get old and die.

still crying.

Fernando Ortega - "Give Me Jesus" from Adamson.TV on Vimeo.

Tullian Tchividjian writes:

As I consider the last six months (and especially this upcoming Sunday) and how kind God has been to convince me that everything minus Jesus equals nothing, but Jesus plus nothing equals everything, I am reminded of my grandmother who passed away in June 2007. She knew Christ’s companionship like no one I’ve ever known. She reveled in the wrecking power of the gospel day in and day out. She lived life like she had nothing to lose because she knew that, in Christ, she had nothing to lose! This enabled her to live with great freedom, fearlessness, and unbounded courage.
For many, many years I have begged God to make me like her– to give me a sharp mind, a soft heart, and a steel spine like he gave her. I can only hope and pray that as God continues to strip me of everything but Him, I would become more like her.
As she used to always say, “Just give me Jesus.”

My God is mighty to save!

2009-09-17T02:19:00.001-04:00

Man. Can I just say, what an AWESOME God! :)

So, I think I mentioned a while back that I am hosting a weekly prayer night every Wednesday. And can I just say that it is AMAZING to get together with other ladies and just PRAY!?

So last Wednesday was the "grand opening" (ha!) only about 10 ladies showed up... but it was SO refreshing and SUCH a blessing! We were busy praying for a hedge of protection over our deployed soldiers... when MEANWHILE....

(jump forward to the next day)

I was driving around trying to find a dress for Esther's wedding (this will be a story for tomorrow) when I got a phone call form Ash :) (YAY!!!)

Ash: "Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you this or not because I don't want you to worry... but yesterday morning..."

**Please note that "yesterday morning" for Ash was Thursday morning HIS time. AKA: Wednesday night OUR time**

My wonderful hubby continued to tell me a story about how he was on duty in the TOC and being that his job is to know what's going on in the air space around them... he was watching some kind of scanner thingy (I'm really not up on the Military talk... I had to google TOC...) and saw a dot coming at him (this "dot" was a Taliban rocket.) When the dot TURNED and hit a place where there were NO people.

No one was hurt. The enemy's plan was ruined!

Talk about a HEDGE OF PROTECTION!!!!! Thank you GOD!

Just wanted to share a little miracle with you :)

On that note, I can now go to bed :)

Success!

2009-09-04T03:05:00.000-04:00

Ahh... *sniff sniff* do you smell that? is it coffee?? no. THAT is the SMELL of SUCCESS!

hahahha! ok... I have had far too much decaf coffee in the last few hours and even more molasses cookies than any normal person should have in a YEAR... so please forgive me if I sound a bit crazy :)

I am going to call our Coffee Coffee a success. :) We had to wait around for FOREVER for people to leave so that we could start cleaning up... which deems a party a success right? When people don't want to leave? That's a good thing? Ok, see, I'm not that crazy right now.

You wanna hear what else was a success tonight? My quiet time. In fact, I'll be honest. I am yet to have a quiet time which does not end in success. You really can't go wrong with some quality time in the word, hangin' with God. It's just all around greatness!

(PLUS I got the world's shortest email from Ash... but you know what? I could care less how short it was. I heard from him nonetheless. THAT is all that matters. And it NEVER fails to brighten my day. ANOTHER SUCCESS!!! Wooohoo!!)

So, check this out. A few posts back I was going through and trying to think of all the good things that are coming out of this AWFUL deployment... and at the end I wrote "...to be continued" Well, I am continuing.

Read Romans 5:3-5

^"3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

You see, deployment = suffering.

suffering = perseverance.

perseverance = character.

character = hope.

So, by deductive reasoning, deployment = HOPE!

Well, I'm not so sure about that... but deployment it certainly helping me excercise my hope. And in the process, I'm developing character. So, I guess it's another thing I can add to my "good" list about deployment.

But don't stop there!!! The goodness keeps going! You see, "hope does not disappoint us." Isn't that exciting!? I am sure you can think of about a million things that are disappointing you RIGHT NOW. But you know what? Hope won't. Do you know why? "because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" WOOHOO! Doesn't that make you feel great?! God has poured out HIS love into OUR hearts. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel good knowing that this deployment will NOT be a disappointment. And God's love? That's ALWAYS a good feeling :)

All this "finding the good in it" talk has me wishing I was watching Pollyanna. Which I think I am going to go buy. You should too.

Goodnight :)

Isaiah 51:11

2009-09-03T15:46:00.001-04:00

"Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning will flee." Isaiah 51:11

So, I'm pretty sure this verse if referring to when Christ returns and we don't have to live on earth anymore... but for me this verse has (brace yourself!) an even MORE exciting promise! This verse (for me) is talking about the day my husband comes home!!!

(notice, I'm not worried that he's not coming. I am trusting and believing that God is bringing him home. BEFORE Thanksgiving, I might add. I know, I'm asking a lot... but I KNOW God can do it! And he will.)

*sigh of relief*

You see, the verse states, "Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall RETURN" Right there: Ash is coming home! It goes on to say that when Ash comes home, "everlasting joy shall be upon their heads." Translation: I WILL BE SOOOOO INCREDIBLY HAPPY!!!!!! "they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning will flee." Translation: I won't be worried or sad anymore so I can TRUELY really be REALLY happy :)

Basically, you should just go read Isaiah 51:1-16 right now.

It's pretty encouraging. Just reminding us that God is really awesome and totally in control. It also talks a lot about God's comfort and compassion... which is also totally great :)

God Knows

2009-09-03T01:59:00.000-04:00

Well, a MILLION things have happened since my last post...

...the most disappointing being that I had not received a phone call from Ash since my birthday.

...the best? oh boy! where to begin!?

Sometime late last week, I felt a deep urge to get together with a bunch of ladies to PRAY. I emailed our battalion chaplain's wife-- Charlene-- also leader of my Tuesday morning Bible Study, which I LOVE! We talked about it over email over the weekend and decided we would open it to the entire brigade and really, anyone who wants to come. Tuesday morning at Bible Study we talked about it some more and, dear Charlene, how I love her... informed me that she has been feeling God telling her to pass the torch to me, that this weekly prayer meeting is to be, as Charlene put it, "your baby." So, I am now the coordinator and leader and point of contact for Wednesday Night Prayer at the N. Ft. Chapel. YIKES!!!! I can not tell you how excited I am... but at the same time, SO SCARED!

You see, this is funny... God has a good sense of humor. This last week in Bible Study, we were talking about getting out of our comfort zone and following God wherever he leads us. Well, God is leading me SO far out of my comfort zone!!! (And might I add, I JUST started getting comfortable!) I am not the biggest "stand-up-and-pray-in-front-of-everyone-and-lead-a-big-group-of-who-knows-how-many-people-in-a-weekly-prayer-meeting" kind of person. The thought of it is rather intimidating... but I am following God's lead and diving in deep! I have no idea how this will go... all I can do is give it to God. So please pray for me! For boldness and courage! Pray that God uses this prayer time to draw his people closer to him and to protect our guys.

Unfortunately, our guys REALLY need all the prayer they can get. The down side to awesome Tuesday Bible study this week and technology? Receiving FRG casualty notifications instantly sent to your cell phone. Three more KIA.

(if you're quiet enough, you might be able to hear my heart actually break every time I so much as think that acronym... I sure feel it...)

So, another day shot.

I spent the afternoon with Amy and the Dave-inator and Amy made me some really yummy tortellini. :) Until I decided I really actually had things I needed to do... I needed a black dress for today's memorial service (more heart break) and needed to buy some things to get ready for tomorrow nights "Coffee Coffee" and wanted to find some cards to send to the families of our fallen heroes (something I had been avoiding out of dread...)

So, to Marshalls I went... where I found a super great dress. :) Made the excursion a little more worth while...

Then to Walmart... because nothing else was open... where I cried in the card aisle for about 20minutes trying to find the right one... even though not a single card was going to make those families feel any better... (heart break)

Then home again and to bed... only, I just laid in bed until about 3am because I COULD NOT SLEEP. (too much heartbreak in one day) I missed my husband. My heart was hurting for the families who's soldiers would not be coming home. And there was nothing I could do about it. Talk about burning the candle... on three ends?

I prayed. A lot. And then finally fell asleep.

BUT GOD KNOWS!!!!!

God knew that I was nearing the end of my rope! And he had my wonderful husband call me!!!!!

(*sigh of relief*)

I was revived. :) I could now start my day! I had lots more to do... Costco trip for more "Coffee Coffee" items, Memorial Service for the first two KIA (heart break), dog park, baking, buffalo drawing... the list goes on.

On my way to Costco to get things for the "Coffee Coffee", I stopped at Starbucks to get some... you guessed it, coffee! :) Instead of my regular, "non-fat Venti iced coffee with honey" I decided to go with a "non-fat Venti iced LATTE with honey." And the WONDERFUL starbucks guy added an extra shot of espresso for free and EVEN stirred in the honey!!! (a small detail which the starbucks people always seem to overlook) Then on to Costco... blah blah blah... we all know how that goes...

Then, the Memorial service. (heart break) I'm glad I went... but it sure was hard... After seeing the pictures, I realized that I had met them both. Multiple times. Durango would run up to them while they were on staff duty and they would hug him and wrestle... both soldiers were in Ash's platoon when he was a platoon leader. (heart break) And now, they are gone. (heart break)

The rest of the day I really just kept myself busy with lots of different things that need to be done... thinking about how grateful I am for my husband and for phone calls and that God knows me soooo well that he knows EXACTLY what I need at the EXACT moment that I need it most.

Tomorrow = "Coffee Coffee!!!"