Little Kicks!

On Sunday morning I started noticing something different going on below my belly button. It almost felt like little pinches (someone mentioned butterflies fluttering and I guess that's the best way to describe it.) Honestly I couldn't even tell you what the feeling is, it's so beautiful and different than anything I've ever felt before. Of course though I decided to ignore it thinking it's way to early to feel anything. (I was still 14 weeks)

Monday rolls around and as I wake up I start feeling the same thing. I'm noticing that I'm only feeling it as I lay down. I finally mentioned it to Dennis, still thinking I was crazy. He wanted to feel to, but I told him he couldn't because it's only on the inside. I felt really bad. I've tried putting my hand on my tummy to feel it and then I feel nothing, but once I remove my hand it starts back up again. It's so cute.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I noticed the feeling more and more! I had a doctors appointment for an ultrasound on my abdomen to see if I had a hernia or something else. I asked the doctor if it was possible to be feeling kicks this early. She told me yes, so now I am positive that's what it is. :) Most of my ultrasound was above my belly button so I couldn't see the baby but towards the end she let me see him/her. It was AMAZING, I couldn't believe how much it has grown. The legs were extended, and the baby had his/her thumb in it's mouth. Baby was laying on his/her back too just like Momma. :) It was a wonderful experience for sure. :)

I'll keep you posted once the kicks get stronger and when Dennis gets to feel them. :)

I love my town!

I've been blessed in my life to be able to travel and live in so many different places. I'm 23 years old and have already lived in 4 states in the past 4 years. While living in Monterey I was drawn to the colors of the area and noticed that the town almost looked like a painting, a Thomas Kinkaid one as a matter of fact. I would constantly tell Dennis this and he thought I was nuts. Finally while walking down Cannery Row one day we noticed a little shop designated to all things Thomas Kinkaid and his work that was done in Monterey. Crazy am I? I think not. It was amazing to me that by just looking at the area I could his vision on paintings.

Unaware of copyright polocies so here is a link to a painting from Thomas Kinkaid of Monterey CA
http://www.thomaskinkade.com/magi/servlet/com.asucon.ebiz.catalog.web.tk.CatalogServlet?catalogAction=Product&productId=74312&menuNdx=0.20

Now we live in Virginia and I've noticed the same thing as I have in Monterey. We first lived in Manassas, VA for about 3 months while looking for our first home. We decided on a home in Round Hill. The drive from Manasses to Round Hill is AMAZING! As you drive your whisked away into a Bob Ross painting. Rolling hills, with happy trees. Horse farms and beautiful mansions. It's breathtaking, you almost forget your driving. Our view from our house is the same. We have the blue ridge mountains surrounding us and a lake view from our backyard. My favorite time of the day is when the sun is rising over the lake and trees. It's a beautiful sight and perfect for a photo or painting. Once we build a deck you'll see plenty of photos. :)

Growing up I was a dye hard Bob Ross fan. My brother Derek and I would watch his show every day and comment on his paintings. We would always have a running joke saying that Bob always adds one thing that looks like it's going to destroy the painting. We'd scream "NO! Why did you do that, you ruined everything" Then at the end of the show we'd see a masterpiece and comment "Oh that's why" lol Anywho the point why I'm telling you this is because not only was I right about Thomas Kinkaid, but I'm also right about Bob Ross. He grew up in Sterling, VA which is a town close to here. I'm almost positive that this is where he gets his inspiration for his paintings. Every time I look outside I think about Bob Ross, and how happy my trees are. :)

Link to an example of my view by Bob Ross
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Cm1xD61pymPzw0C_ninR_LKYVdmxXPppFVK6H9so5OCiVucpi0nUPg7eRqq8l1tw3pqn2RZei7a6BurL5-tkF8Gh6WySrzQce6mWOdTViqDNIObk9ExfrYLg5imY2TobrLBezon6mt4/s400/DSC_0069.JPG

Annoyed and ready to have this baby.

Since I have found out that I was pregnant I have been noticing discomfort in my diaphragm area. I talked to the doctor about it once and was told it was probably pain from throwing up during the first couple weeks of the pregnancy. Last week I noticed it more and more, especially after a full stomach. I decided to make another doctor appointment just to be safe.

Sure enough my fears were becoming reality and the doctor believes that I have a hiatal hernia. This throws everything off, I have to change my whole diet and exercise routine. Mainly my diet because I was so worried that my baby wasn't getting the right nutrition that I over ate and now have gained WAY to much weight for the first trimester. In order to be comfortable the rest of the pregnancy I have to eat small meals all day long. That way my stomach won't be so bulged like it has been. I also really need to start becoming active. I haven't exercised since I found out I was pregnant because of all the nausea that I've had.

I hope and pray that everything goes smooth with this pregnancy. It's already starting out with a bumpy start. :(

Shelling!

We made it to Sanibel and it's so beautiful. I'm jealous of Dennis for being able to come here every year as a child. It's so nice to be near the ocean and have a relaxing vacation. If only this baby would let me relax. I've been sick everyday since I've been here. Yesterday I woke up with an awful headache that lasted all day, all night, and even some this morning. Then today we went out to breakfast and I ate a ton of biscuits and gravy which made me terribly sick. I am hoping and praying tomorrow i'll feel better.

One of the best things to do in Sanibel is go shelling. The shells are so beautiful here and you can find practically anything unbroken. I found beautiful conk shells but the only problem was that they were filled with either slugs or crabs. I still found an amazing assortment of shells either way. :)

Here are some photos from the trip.....

Love him!

You would think that after spending 14 months away from each other 11 hours would be nothing. haha

Dennis has been pulling extra hours at work so that we can take our vacation with his folks. He already works 10 hour shifts in order to work on the company flex schedule to have 3 day weekends. Now he's working 11 hour shifts. It really sucks because he comes home, we have dinner, and then spend 1 hour together before we have to go to bed. Plus that hour together is usually spent watching TV because we're so exhausted that we don't want to go on a walk, or anything like that. Luckily it will all be paid off when we enjoy some sun next to the beach.

Sanibel here we come.....

Turning into a grown up.

After four years of living in apartments I can finally say I'm ready to move into a house. I am so sick of living so close to people. I can literally here everything going on upstairs in my neighbors apartments. Sometimes I don't want to know whats going on in there if you know what I mean....ewww! The thing I'm looking most forward to getting away from is the LOUD music my neighbors play. It sounds like I'm at a disco, you can dance to the music in our apartment that's how loud it is.

We bought a beautiful house (kind of in the sticks) It's definitely in the country but the view from our house is amazing. The further you go outside of the city the better house you get for your money. So that being said this will be a bit of a commute for Dennis to get to work. Even though there is a commute, the route he has to take is scenic. So it's worth the drive looking at the blue ridge mountains and the beautiful homes on the hills, and vineyards. We're very excited about this move.

My favorite thing about this house is that it's big enough for a large family. Our goal was to get a final home! We've moved so many times in the last four years that we didn't want to start with a starter house and have to move as our family grew. I'm already pregnant now and plan to have more children in the future. My goal if God allows it, is to have 4 children. The neighborhood is very kid friendly and I'm so excited to raise my child here. Also the schools are fantastic!

Today I started packing for the big move, and am happy to say that we'll be out of these apartments in less than 2 short weeks! Then the fun part starts, we get to remodel. Our main goal is to put tile in the kitchen and get rid of the disgusting laminate. Painting is a must. When the original people left they left awful scuff marks all over the walls. Those are the main problems right now. More updates later in the year. I'll post pictures to my facebook once the updates are done.

We're having a BABY!!!!

Baby Arakelian due May 24, 2011

The past two months have been rough on me. The first month I found out I was pregnant I didn't blog because I was sick 24/7! I was afraid of eating because I don't like throwing up. So the genius that I am decided to stop eating. I went to the doctor and found out that I was very malnourished and the doctor said EAT!!!! I felt horrible that I had stopped eating for my own selfish reasons and realized I had to do whatever I could to get food down. I pretty much spent that whole first month eating lots of soup and crackers.

By the second month I was able to hold down foods until 5:00 pm. I had the worst evening sickness ever! I had to be in bed before 9:00pm or else I would throw up. Also cooking dinner was a challenge for me because everything smelled awful! Eating dinner was a challenge too. I still don't understand how breakfast and lunch were fine but it would take me over an hour to eat a simple meal. I also felt bad for Dennis too because, I would be fine all day and the moment he would walk in the door I would be sick.

Thankfully now (third month) I am feeling much better! I have my energy back and I don't get sick as often. I still deal with a little bit of nausea but it's nothing like before. My medicine for all of this is peppermint. It's been a drug for me. The second my stomach starts acting up I chew on a piece of gum or suck on a mint and miraculously I am healed. I love it!

Now on to appointments. My first appointment was a boring one. I talked to the doctor about my medical history and gave blood. My second appointment was the best one! It was our first ultrasound. Unfortunately Dennis had to work for this but he did enjoy seeing the photo when he got home. My third appointment I was able to hear the babies heartbeat. It was an emotional experience. The nurse first let me here mine, then moved to the babies. It was an amazing sound! I had butterflies in my stomach while listening. I don't have another appointment till November 23, and I wont be able to find out the sex of the baby till January.

In closing I have to thank God for this blessing. I was torn after our last miscarriage and so Dennis and I prayed every day for another baby. I am truly grateful that the Lord blessed us so early with another baby. Also, thank you to everyone who prayed for us during our time of need.

Sunday fun....

Since Dennis has 3 day weekends, we've decided to take a little trip every weekend. We get cabin fever if we're cooped up for to long. On Sunday our friends called us to see if we wanted to hang out. They live a couple hours away from us so we try and meet in the middle. It's great because we get to explore new towns.

We met up with Josh, Erica, and their cute son Conner in a city called Orange. Dennis and I left a little early because we noticed that James Madisons house was in that city. The house was huge, and beautiful. They restored the outside, and our currently working on the inside. The volunteers did a good job painting an image in our heads, but it would be nice to come back when we have kids and see the changes to the inside.

The house had a ridiculous amount of land, and on the land they had horses. They were beautiful. Dennis and I decided to check them out. One finally came to our side so we pet him and after that all the horses wanted us to pet them.

After touring the house, we met up with our friends for dinner. We went to a steak place for dinner, I didn't have steak though. We had yummy crab dip for an appetizer and I had a cesar salad for my meal. It was really good, and we enjoyed our time with our friends. It's so nice to get out and hang out with some long time friends.

NO, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth.

Sorry I have not updated my blog in a a while, but I've been pretty sick. All last week I could barely get out of bed without having to head to the bathroom. Luckily, I'm feeling better now.

There hasn't been that many updates with our lives. We're still looking at houses and possibly getting a new car as well. My check engine light just came on ($700 to fix it!) Since my car is small and breaking every year we decided it was probably time to upgrade to a bigger car. We'll need a car to haul stuff to the new house when we get one.

That's all I can think about today.

:)

The year of vacations...

This year will be known as the "Year of Vacations" for me. I feel like every month we've been on the road. This is a good thing though because knowing what it's like to not have Dennis by my side makes me not want to waste any minute where we could be doing something.

I hated those 14 months without him! On August 12 this year I woke up with a shiver and then turned and saw Dennis and smiled. That day was the normal day he would have been leaving for a deployment. I can't tell you how good it felt to know that he was still beside me in bed. 2 years of deployments in a row were awful for me. The first year I was diagnosed with depression but I refused to take medication for it. I knew that once I saw Dennis I wouldn't feel that way anymore. Sure enough it worked, the moment we saw each other it was like those seven months never happened. I love that about us, because we can just pick up right where we left off. The only problem was we only had 3 whole months together before he had to leave again for another seven months. Looking back on it I don't know how we did it. I'm just thankful we'll never have to go through that again.

Since Dennis has been home we've been to Illinois twice, the Outer banks of North Carolina, Wilmington plenty of times, Florida (Disney World), The Biltmore Estate, Washington D.C., we moved to Virginia and we've just scheduled a trip to go to Sanibel Island for Thanksgiving with Den's parents. Dennis has wanted to take me here since we first started dating and now finally we're able to go. It will be nice for Dennis to get away from work. Also it would be nice to go to the beach once it starts to get chilly out. :)

I'm thankful for all the places we've been this year, and hopefully there will be more to come.

Trip to D.C.

Yesterday Dennis and I decided to take the metro to Washington D.C. We had so much fun but ended up being very exhausted. We visited the Washington Monument, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, and the Smithsonian.

The best thing about D.C. is that everything is near each other. If I'm staring at the Washington Monument I can also see the WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. If I turn to my right I can see the White house, and behind me I can see the Capital building. It's amazing! One day we're going to tour the White House but it's a huge process to get tickets so it will be a while before we do.

My complaint about D.C. is that there are no restaurants! We walked forever trying to find a place to eat. (not a chain restaurant) We couldn't find anything. Finally we found a basement bar and we had a burger and fries. I don't think D.C. is very tourist friendly. You would think the place would be lined up with restaurants considering that it's a huge tourist spot. You can't walk 10 feet in Chicago without running into a place to eat.

Once we got home we spent the rest of the night relaxing, since we did so much walking. I cant tell you how exhausted we were!

making muffins now...better go. :)

Why am I the only one complaining???

I am sitting in my apartment that has been turned into a club. My neighbors upstairs insist on turning their music to the highest volume and singing along with it. Not only is the music loud, but apparently they like to jump to the music too so I have to listen to the floors shake. It's so frustrating, it sounds like i'm in the room with them.

It's so loud that I can't understand how they are allowed to have the music so high. I can't be the only one complaining. The side neighbors have to hear it, or the neighbors on top. It's so annoying. Not to mention as we were walking up to our apartment there were hundreds of cigarette buds at the entry way from them. How disrespectful!

So today we went house shopping (I should put in offer in today just to get away from this place) I have to keep my chin up, I only have 2 more months left!

SAVE ME!

No interesting title today....

Woke up this morning and made Dennis a skillet breakfast. It was inspired by our favorite breakfast place in Monterey, California. It had turkey sausage, hash browns, onions, peppers, tomatoes and cheese. Topped with a over easy egg on top. It's so good when the egg runs throughout the meal. You should try it sometime. I also spiced it up with extra spicy seasonings and chalula hot sauce (a favorite in our household)

Last night I decided to go with the chicken recipe. I put a status out on facebook asking everyone what they would decide and chicken just seemed like the right choice. I had asparagus and a salad as the side dish. yum yum! I'm excited for spaghetti and meatballs tonight. I love Italian food so much.

As I told you Dennis started work this week, he's in training period right now. Yesterday the boss moved him up a notch in his training because he was doing so well. Hopefully soon he can start his actual job! We also picked up his suits from the Tailor. He bought 2 new suits, a gray one and a blue one. When we first started dating he always wore suits, so I'm glad to see him in them again. :)

Tomorrow we'll go house hunting again. Wish us luck, so far we haven't seen anything that's perfect. I really hope we can find the home of our dreams soon.

Our weekend starts tonight, I should have some fun interesting stuff to post this weekend. :)

Dinner date with the boy....

After preforming my housewife duties yesterday I started to feel sick to my stomach. I had no energy to cook, so Dennis and I decided to go on a little date. I cleaned both bathrooms and dusted and I think the constant smell of bleach made me a little queasy.

On another note, my apartment has a Daddy Long Legs infestation. I killed four of them (one being a baby), and somehow the fifth one got away. They're everywhere! Thankfully I can rest peacefully because I looked up the average spiders we eat a year, and found out that it was a myth. phew!

I am loving being a housewife. Yesterday I put on a 50's dress and did my hair in curlers while I cleaned the house. I am disappointed that we had to go out to eat last night, I honestly believe (and Dennis agrees) that my cooking is better than some restaurants here. Last night we went to an Italian restaurant, my meal was tortellini in a rosa sauce. I could tell that the tortellini was store bought Buitoni Tortellini (because I've bought that brand before) and it was supposed to have prosciutto when they used bacon. I guess the restaurant believes that if you eat there you know nothing about the culinary world. Don't worry though I only spent $18.00 on the meal with the total bill around $80.00!!! The sad part is that this was a local mom and pop shop I expect them to have "real food" I might as well of been at a chain restaurant.

I guess I like to spoil myself. I make a full course dinner every night for Dennis. (my pant size proves it! lol) Not only do I make a full course meal but we have wine with dinner and eat by candlelight with classical music playing. It might sound cheesy but dinner's are a passion of mine. It's the one time where Dennis and I can relax and spend quality time together without the distraction of the electronic world we live in. This is why I chose this life as a housewife, I love waking up in the morning and cleaning my apartment. I love when Dennis walks in the room and smells a wonderful dinner cooking. Most importantly I love his appreciation of all the work I do, and I appreciate him for the work he does. We make a great team. :)

Hmmm now if only I can decide what's for dinner tonight. It's a toss up between homemade spaghetti and meatballs, or chicken in a lemon sauce with capers. I'll fill you in tomorrow on what I decide.

Disturbed!

I've been annoyed the last couple of days...

I've been browsing through facebook for a while now and noticing disturbing photos. I would post them but I don't know what the rules are of posting a photo that isn't mine, I'm sure theres some sort of copyright policy.

The first photo was a of a VERY pregnant woman with a cigarette in her mouth sitting across from her toddler son.

The second photo was of a woman holding her toddler with a cigarette in her mouth.

Dennis and I went out to dinner one night and sat next to a couple sharing a bottle of wine even though the girl was pregnant.

I'm annoyed because I think these are all selfish acts. The signs are there that all these acts are bad for you. Why on Earth would you want to start your babies life off like this? I've been told by many people that "1 glass of wine a week is ok for a baby" Really? The truth is that when your tipsy your baby is passed out drunk. I dont know about you but I can get tipsy off 1 glass of wine.

I'm just annoyed and I needed to rant, thanks for giving me the time......

I'm back and I'm not going anywhere.......

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I'm sorry for leaving everyone out of the loop. This year I was balancing working with being a house wife and it tired me out all the time! Well I am officially a house wife full time now so expect to here more from me. :)

Lots has happened since you've last heard from me. Shortly after Dennis and I got back from the Outer banks of North Carolina we found out that we were expecting a baby. We were so excited, but unfortunately a couple weeks later we suffered an early miscarriage. I'm telling you this now because this is the first time I've been able to talk about it. I've told myself over and over again that I'm fine and ready to try again, but each month I'd fail and I would be devastated. I know that the last couple month's I haven't been emotionally ready and that God will tell me when I'm ready by blessing us with a child on his time.

We've also changed addresses. On August 26Th Dennis went on terminal leave with the Marine Corps. All the leave that Dennis saved up was able to be used as an "early out" of the Marines. So officially he was done with his enlistment on September 11. So we decided to move to Virginia late August. Dennis didn't have a job at this time so we were taking a risk. Thankfully when we got into Virginia the company he had been talking to gave him a contract for a job. We had been praying many nights for this to happen and we were so thankful to hear from them. Dennis took the job and wasn't able to start till mid September.

Since we had so much time till the job started we decided to take a little trip to Illinois. We wanted to spend time with Den's family because his dad hasn't been feeling to well. It was also nice to see our Niece and Nephew too. After seeing Den's parents we spent some time with my family as well. It was nice to see everyone.

Now we're back in Virginia and Dennis started work yesterday. He loves his job and the best part about the job is that if he works four 10 hour shifts then he can get a 3 day weekend. So of course he decided to take those shifts that way we can be together longer on the weekends. We're also looking for a house while we're here because we plan on Virginia being our permanent home. I can't tell you how happy I am to have Dennis home with me for good. I'm so happy that I'll never have to go through a deployment again.

Glad to be back!

As I promised here is my information on my trip I took last week. Den and I decided to take a weekend trip to the Outer banks of North Carolina. The island was so beautiful. I can't believe I've lived by it for 3 years and just know decided to visit it. We visited three towns while we were there, saw three lighthouses, and found out that we really love crab.



In order to get onto Ocacroke Island you have to drive your car onto a ferry. It's a really neat experience, you and about 20 other cars drive on (we were one of the first, big help because you get out faster!!!) Then you can get out of your car and look out at the ocean. We saw dolphins following our boat, a school of sting rays, and jellyfish while we were out. It was as if we were at our own aquarium.



Once we got to Ocracoke we immediately hopped onto another ferry to Cape Hatteres Island, this is where we stayed for the night. After we woke up we went and saw the Cape Hatteres lighthouse, it was so beautiful. We climbed all the way to the top. Also as we we're waiting for the lighthouse to open up we met a nice older couple from Florida who taught us the art of a happy marriage for over 30 years. Little do they know that Dennis and I are perfect for each other, but we listened to them and just smiled. It was nice to hear from a couple like that, and they told us that It was nice to see a young couple as cute as us. ;)

After we saw the lighthouse, we took an hour drive down to Roanoke. At this island we did most of our sight seeing. We saw the Elizabethian gardens, which were beautiful! After the gardens we took a stroll down to the lost colony of Roanoke. I was a little disappointed in that because it was a small fort with just a flag poking out. I thought there was going to be a lot more, but I'm glad that it made Dennis happy to see it.

After the colony we decided to drive back home. On our way home we saw a winery and decided to stop. This winery showcased the dessert wines like most do in North Carolina, only this one was better. We liked this one so much, because it wasn't as sweet as most of the ones in NC are. Sometimes they taste so sweet that it can get a bit syrupy. We decided to buy a couple bottles, and we also got a private tour of the place.

Finally we made it home so we could start our work week. I just want to let you all know Den and I are going to Illinois for 10 days, so I wont have any stories for a while. I'll put a link up of pictures and write more tales when I return. Bye!!!

Den and I took a weekend trip down to the Outerbanks of North Carolina. I hate uploaded photos on here because it takes so long on my slow computer, so here is the link to my facebook album. Hope you all enjoy. I'll try to write more about the trip later, but for now I have some much needed TV time to catch up on.

:)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074691&id=200300690&l=6c6f25776e

D day

I want to apologize to all that read my blog. I realize I haven't posted a blog in a while, but work has kept me so busy. It's amazing how hard it is to work after being a house wife. I didn't have a problem working in Illinois when Dennis was gone, but now that he's home it's so hard. I want to spend the majority of my time with him, so once works done I devote my time to him.

Last week was hectic at work. Mother's day otherwise known as D day for me. You wouldn't believe how busy we were, we had to cut off orders by Friday we were so booked. Also my job only has 5 employees so you can bet the worked our butts off. Starting Thursday each employee was expected to pull 11 hour shifts, even more if they could. I now realize why America is obese because each night I begged Dennis to go out to dinner because just looking at my kitchen made me want to sleep. Thankfully Dennis agreed on the going out to eat, my pant size didn't agree. I cant believe how much money we spent and weight I've gained just from that weekend. This experience made me realize that I have to be a stay at home mom when I have kids. I don't want to come home and resort to fast food, or going out for dinner because "I'm to tired" It's not fair to the kids. I realize that in most families the guy and the girl has to work, I'm going to try my hardest to stay at home. I feel like that's what I'm supposed to do in my life, and if I have to give up something I enjoy to do it, then I guess I'll have to. Luckily I don't have to worry about that anytime soon though.

Dennis has about 3 1/2 months left in the Marine Corps, I am so excited for him. We've been waiting for this moment for a very long time. At the end of this month we'll be visiting Illinois for Andrew's graduation, my cousin Erin's wedding, and my niece Madeleine's birthday. It's going to be a very busy week traveling from Den's house to mine back and forth, but I cant wait. Not only to we have that vacation, we also are going to Disney World a couple weeks afterwards. This trip will be with Den's family. I can't wait to go and see Ariel. :)

Talk to you later.

i am writing a blog today!

I am writing a blog today even if it kills me! It's been way to long, and I swear when I get back from work there will be words on this thing. Sorry it's been so long, I had no idea a part-time job could tire me out so much! Talk to you later. ;)

kids, kids, and more kids!!!

I am blessed to have such a large family and so thankful that it keeps growing. Right now 3 of my cousins are pregnant. It's amazing! I am so happy for them and can't wait to meet the little guys. I just received one of the cousins baby shower invites. Of course the second I got home I looked up their registry on babies R us. It's a boy and it looks like the theme is turtles. It looks like they're nursery is going to be adorable.

Yesterday we babysat for one of our friends. It was so much fun! Their daughter Naomi is a little over 1 years old and is such a calm baby. She was completely fine with us watching her. I made spaghetti for dinner and she gobbled what little she could with her tiny belly. Then afterwards we went outside in our back yard and she met one of our neighbors who was a month younger. It was so cute to see them interact, it was almost as if they were actually have a conversation together. Dennis and I took Naomi on a walk and she was fascinated with EVERYTHING. as we walked she would scream WHOA over and over again. Once we got home we fed her fruit for a snack and played games with her. We had a blast hanging out with Naomi. :)

A beautiful Saturday and I'm stuck in JAIL!

Just kidding, I'm not really in jail, but it might seem like it. I'm at work right now. I like to call it jail because we are stuck in the back room with no windows or music. It's so quiet. Not only that but my whole job consists of peeling fruit. Sometimes I feel like an old soldier from WWII who's in trouble and has to peel a thousand potatoes with a dull knife. lol

The day went pretty smooth, We did on the other hand have one rude customer. He actually through a business card at us and slammed the door shut on his way out. Crazy people. Our policy at Edible Arrangements is that we cannot guarantee delivery times. Yes, I do agree that's crazy. If you look at it on our perspective though you'll realize it's impossible to guarantee it. We get multiple orders that we make that day. So if we let everyone choose a time then they would never get done.

OK that's enough work talk, I'm off to enjoy the weekend.

Breaking out the summer dresses! :)

Today it was 88 degrees!!! I love Spring, not only was it 88 outside but it wasn't humid. It's not every day Jacksonville gets this type of weather so I have to enjoy it when I can. I promise you by next month it will be so humid outside you would think you could swim in it.

Today Dennis and I woke up around seven, not my type of sleeping in but at least I got an extra 15 minutes. We've been trying to make the most of our day. So far the pain meds are still working for Dennis so I didn't have to baby him as much as I thought I would. It worked out for our benefit though because this way he's been able to eat better meals than just soup.

I decided to make eggs for Dennis today so that why he gets some sort of solid to eat. I decided that I'm just going to feed him anything that a toddler can eat. That way he doesn't have to chew it. For lunch I made my first soup, it was very good it was called Spanish Garlic Soup. It was so good, it was a broth soup that had a poached egg and slice of french bread on top. It was restaurant material.

We decided to go on a walk today do to the wonderful weather. It's gorgeous outside. I also decided to put on a summer dress. I have been wearing them for some time now but at least now I'm not freezing when I wear it. :) What a wonderful day.

Time to eat. ;)

Taking care of my boy.

Is it wrong that I am enjoying getting to take care of my husband??? Early this morning I had to take Dennis to the base dental office for oral surgery. He had to get a gum graph. Apparently brushing your teeth hard is bad for you and deteriorates your gums. So he was in surgery for 2 hours, and the worst part of the news is that he can't eat any solids for 3 weeks. I have to say I am loving spending time with him and taking care of him. I guess this is preparing me for when we have kids. :)

I've explained to Dennis before how heart broken I was when the last time he had surgery he was in California without me. I wished I could have been there so bad to take care of him. Luckily this time I am here and I'm going to make sure to take care of him whatever he needs. I've made a menu for the week of different soup recipes to make for him. Yes, I could just buy prepared soup....But, I love cooking and this way I still can. On Easter since I can't make a nice meal I am going to make Ham and pea soup. Sounds pretty yummy.

So far Dennis isn't in any pain, they've given him a lot of drugs so maybe tonight it will kick in. I hope it never does because at this point he's doing great. Well I better get going we're about to go for a walk.

back from the dead....

Hello Everyone!

It seems like forever since my last post. I started my new job and have been very busy ever since. It's hard getting on the computer after work. I am so tired all the time. I really miss my lazy life. Working does have it's benefits though, at least I'm not bored all day long.

To celebrate having a job I decided to get a tanning account. North Carolina's tanning packages suck! In Illinois I was able to spend a one time fee of $85 and afterwards only pay $18 per month. In North Carolina the lowest package is $35 a month. One of the packages is $80 a month. Who can afford that?!? They've also tried to sell me tanning lotion numerous times. One bottle that I liked was $110 dollars, I went on Amazon today and found the bottle for $40. Can you believe how much money they charge for things. It kills me just thinking about it. I decided to go for the smallest package just for this month, hopefully after this month I can just tan outside by the pool. Also if I do buy any lotion it will definitely be online.

Dennis is done with the range. He shoot expert in rifle and sharp shooter in pistol qualifications. I am happy that he had to do this because he met a lot of cool people at the competition. There was a group of Royal Marines, that Dennis became pretty good friends with. It's also nice that he did this because now he has a medal for the pistol qualifications and he's never had that medal before.

Work is going great. It's really fun to make the arrangements. Also it's a pretty chill job. The most arrangements we've had to make is about 20 which really isn't that much. Normally we are busy till about noon and after that it dies down. I also like that I know how to do this so in the future I could just make one for myself. I get to eat my mistakes too so that's a plus. ;)

getting over my nerves.

I have really bad nervous habits. I bite my nails like crazy, and when I can't bite my nails anymore I braid my hair. Not just any kind of braid, I try to braid the smallest braid that I can on my head and the second I am done.....I drag my finger down the middle of it, practically ripping the braid out of my hair. I do it over and over again, I'm surprised that I have hair left afterwards. I mainly do this when I am sitting at home on the couch, or watching movies in a theater. Lately I have been trying to break both habits. To stop the nail biting, I decided to paint my nails. When ever I think about biting, I file my nails. Whenever I really need to bite, i pick at the polish. When I get home I just re polish. It sounds crazy but I've gone a whole week without biting. That's a huge accomplishment for me. The hair braiding, well that's another story. I don't think that will ever end. I think I'll go bald before that ends. lol

I got the job at Edible Arrangements. I start at 8:00 am on Monday. I'm pretty excited about it. At least it's something to keep me busy. The best part is that I get to learn how to make the bouquets, and dip the fruit in the chocolate. I think it's going to be a great job. They're trying to cute back the hours at the place so if they do that will be amazing. Plus, we could really use the extra money, so I can't be to picky about jobs.

Dennis has to work tomorrow. The poor guy is so tuckered out. He went to bed today at 8:00 pm. After work tomorrow, we're going to drive down to Wilmington and stay at a bed and breakfast. We're going to eat at one of the restaurants that we found at the Taste of Wilmington, and then on Saturday we're going to watch a play at the theater. (hopefully I wont bite my nails. ;) ) It will be a nice short weekend for the two of us before work starts back up on Monday. I haven't worked since December so this is going to be rough on me. Wish me luck.

Finally a job interview.

To my surprise Dennis has been coming home early every day. Yesterday he was home by 3:00 pm. That's amazing! Everyday he comes home we watch Dexter. We finished the first season, it was pretty good. Now we're on to the next season. It's starting out slow, so I hope it picks up.

I got a call yesterday from Edible Arrangements. They want me to come in today for a job interview. I should be happy but I'm not. I can't find any 9-5 Mon-Fri job here. The only reason they want to hire me is because I told them I was flexible. Then I found out flexible meant working nights and every weekend. I'm never going to see my husband if I do that! I've gotten so used to being a house wife, that it's really going to suck not being here when Dennis comes home. I love having dinner ready by 5, doing laundry during the day so it doesn't take up my weekend. I love being home in case Dennis gets home early. With this job it screws up everything!! I think when Dennis got deployed it kind of screwed me up a little. It's hard to be away from him now that I finally have him back. It's something I'm just going to have to work through, and just another test in our relationship.

On other news, Dennis has filled out a ton of resumes in the past week. Hopefully by the end of the month we'll here something. We actually might know where we'll move to. I can't wait. Honestly we're expecting to live in Virginia or Maryland. Things could change though. :)

The Weekend.

On Friday around 9 in the morning Dennis came home from work. It was a great surprise. I guess all he had to do that day was get his rifle from the armory, after that they we're free to go. So we both crawled in bed and I let him sleep a little longer. It was nice to have him home and get a nice long weekend together. We decided to go out on a date that night. We stayed home and ate but went to the movies afterwards. I made Blue cheese stuffed Turkey burgers. It's so good when you stuff them with the cheese, because it gets gooey inside. I also made oven fries to go with them.

On Saturday we prepared for our wine and cheese party all day. Dennis bought tent cards and on one side put the name of each cheese and on the other side a short description about each cheese. We also set the cheeses on three different cheese plates (we had 8 different cheeses) and put those plates around our apartment, to keep the crowd moving. We had 2 on dinning table and 1 on our card table in the living room. We had classical music playing, and I put out different appetizers for everyone to have. It seemed like everyone had an amazing time. I don't know if I'll host one again, I woke up with the worst hangover ever. I wasn't even planning on getting drunk. I figured it's a tasting you cant get drunk off of a little wine. We did the math and found out everyone had at least a bottle to themselves. That's a lot of wine!

Sunday, we spent most of the day sleeping and trying to cure our hangovers. Dennis decided to tell me that I am very dramatic when I don't feel good. lol I guess I am but it hurts. We didn't have any Tylenol so that was the worst part. I needed my headache to be gone! I decided once I was finally done being sick that I would eat some toast to help the pain. Then we decided to get out of the apartment and get some fresh air. We went to the mall and ate some New York style pizza. Oh my goodness I love those giant slices of pizza. I went shopping for some new shoes, all I have for the summer is flip flops and I really hate those kinds of shoes. I decided to cave and get those Roman sandal looking shoes. They're actually cute shoes, I don't know why I hated them so much in the beginning. I also bought 3 different outfits because there was a sale at Wetseal and I found out I get a military discount. It turned out to be a good day after all. :)

Day 1

Dennis came home from work today around five. I was all ready to make turkey burgers for dinner, but I was really in the mood for a date. So we went out for dinner at a steak and seafood restaurant. The service was crappy and the food wasn't that great either. I got pasta with muscles, shrimp, and scallops in it. The sauce was terrible, it had a jelly texture and didn't seem fresh at all. Dennis got a pasta too and his sauce tasted the same. I'm not planning on ever going back to that place.

Today starts the 2 weeks of rifle qual. I can already tell it's going to be tough. My poor boy is so tried all the time. We came home from dinner and watched the TV show Dexter, it's become our new found TV obsession. (I think every relationship has some TV show obsession) We got through one episode and on the second one Dennis passed out (it was around 7:00 pm.) So once the episode was over I stayed in bed with Dennis till he fell asleep again, poor guy I hate how much work drains him. He has to get up at 3 this morning. Thank God this weekend he'll get a break. I am already not looking forward to next weekend when he has to work.

expect to see me on here a lot more because I am going to be bored the next couple of weeks. I just hope Dennis comes home at a decent hour tomorrow. Saturday we are having a wine and cheese party. I'm super excited about it, we bought at least 10 different cheeses and wines to match them. I'm planning on making light snacks to go with it. I'll tell you more about it after the party. :)

It's getting late here I should try and sleep. Goodnight.

It starts....

Of course the military is being the military. Dennis started work back up the beginning of March, and they're already working him like crazy. I have to keep telling myself that it's only going to last for a couple more months. I guess the thing that makes me mad is that he's getting out, so there is no need for him to do these pointless tasks. Not that they care about my opinion though.

Started tomorrow Dennis will start rifle qualifications. He's really excited because this will be the first time he gets to shoot pistol qual too. That's one more medal for his uniform. :) The only bad part about rifle qual, is that it takes so long! It's a 2 week course and they work the boys for hours! Tomorrow Dennis has to get up at 3 in the morning and I'm probably not going to expect him home till 8-10 pm. He'll have to work like that all week long, next Saturday, and the next week too. I am happy he'll receive another medal though. :)

We found out yesterday that we're going to Disney world sometime this year. We're going with Den's parents, and his sister's family. I am so excited, I love Disney so much and can't wait. We are either going in June or September. The only problem is that those are both potential dates that Dennis could be out of the Marine Corps. It's going to be hard to get time off if he's working at another job. This year is so hectic for us and it's so hard to plan anything. We have lots of friends that want to come out and visit and it's so hard to say yes to them. We are for sure going to Disney though, my niece and nephew will be there and we really want to see their reactions to the place.

I better get going. :)

I miss you Grandma Clem!!!

So since I can't seem to find a job, and am bored a lot during the day. I decided to try my hands at becoming Miss Domestic. I cleaned the apartment (which I do everyday) but I also spent hours making dinner and dessert. I never make a dessert with dinner. I found out that being domestic is the hardest job out there. I now know why women used to not work.

I had to make 3 trips to the food lion because I kept forgetting ingredients. The second trip I came home and found out my ricotta cheese was spoiled (It wasn't a pretty sight.) Finally in the third trip, I had everything I needed. I started with dinner which was a baked ziti. Dinner was a success. Desert though was my Grandma Clem's peach pie. The dough was the hardest part to make. It doesn't taste exactly like hers yet but I'll work on it. Also I used store bought filling, eventually I want to make my own filling. Dennis really loved the pie, he had 2 pieces so I know he wasn't just saying it. I on the other hand know it's just not the same. It was still a good pie...just not hers.

When my Grandma passed away I used to tell myself that I didn't spend enough time asking her questions, or cooking with her. Honestly I could have cared less about cooking, now that I'm married it's a passion of mine. My favorite part of the day is dinner, because I get to see Den's reaction to my meals. He loves my cooking, I guess I can say he's my biggest fan. :)

I have forgiven myself for not visiting my Grandma that much, It was a huge weight on me after she died. The most amazing thing happened to me after I forgave myself. I went to her tombstone and talked to her and explained to her how if she was still around I would have talked to her more about food and get the recipe for her pie that we miss so much. At Christmas 2009 Peggy just happened to look into her recipe box and inside was the recipe for pie crust, on the recipe it said that it was for me in memory of Grandma Clem. I still get goosebumps from it. It was like she was there listening to me. Of course I cried my eyes out at Christmas, and now I'm so happy to have that recipe.

I miss you Grandma and thanks for the recipe. :)

I hate coming up with titles.....

I haven't been in the writing mood lately. That's why you haven't heard from me. I come home exhausted, or when I am home I just don't feel like doing it. Sorry about that. I am hear to assure you that I am alive and well. We did have a rather busy weekend so at least I have something to talk about. :)

On Friday Dennis and I decided to go down to Wilmington for a date night. For Den's birthday last year he got a gift card from his sister to Chili's and we finally decided to use it. Instead of going to Chili's we used it at the Macaroni grill. We had an amazing dinner. Dennis had baked ziti, and I had mushroom ravioli. I recommend that place, I pretty much liked everything on the menu.

Saturday we went to a friend Birthday party. The party was Hollywood themed. I went dressed as Posh Spice, and Dennis was my paparazzi. We didn't go all out like everyone else. At the party there was Bond with his Bond girlfriend, Audrey Hepburn, Liza Minnelli, Gilligan, and Skipper. I think our favorite was the girl dressed as Angelina Jolie. I liked her because she actually took the time to write out the tattoos on her skin. We thought they were real tattoos.

Today we went with a friend to see Alice and Wonderland. It's a pretty good movie. I have to say that I hate 3D movies though. I wish they would just have normal movies. It also angers me that I have to pay $2 extra to see this movie. If they are going to do that then they should have the option of 3D or not. Or they should have the option of buying the glasses or not. I mean they have the stupid recycle your glasses box....Where are they recycling to if I have to just buy them all over again? I think it's stupid.

better get going. Talk to you later.

Taking it easy...

I woke up to a rainy day and not feeling well. I actually love not feeling well on rainy days, it gives me an excuse to be lazy. I would rather be sick today than if it was beautiful outside. Today Den's parents left so we went out for breakfast. I took them to a place called the Kettle Diner. It's a cute diner that sells home cooked food. I got a mound of biscuits and gravy. It's probably my favorite breakfast. Afterwards they took off for their long journey to Illinois.

Right now I'm on the job hunt. Since it's freezing outside I decided to put on my snuggie, make some hot chai, and search for jobs all day long. I'm thankful for technology because I don't even have to leave my house to get a job these days. It helps me out a lot. Since it's so hard to find a job in a Military town I've decided to just apply anywhere and everywhere. I will only be working for about 4 months so I can't be to picky. The money would really help though, so I hope I find something.

Well my chai is done and I need to stop procrastinating. talk to you later.

A day in Wilmington

Hello All,

Today we took Den's parents to Wilmington for the third time on their trip. Honestly there is nothing to do in Jacksonville, so this is the highlight of their entertainment. Today Dennis took his dad on the Battleship of North Carolina (A very boring tour, but the men enjoy it.) Roe and I went to an outdoor shopping center. It would have been nice if it was summer, but it was 40 degrees today so a little bit cold. I hate having to walk outside to each shop. I wish all shopping malls were indoors.

The main reason we went to Wilmington was for the food. We went to dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant called Indochine. Amazing food, probably my favorite Asian restaurant. I ordered dumplings. and had rice on the side. I loved the ginger soy sauce they give you for the dumplings, it tastes good on everything.

Tomorrow Den's parents are staying with us until Tuesday. They decided to tack on a couple more days to their trip. It will be exciting to have them over, we're usually by ourselves so this will be new. We only have a little bed though so his dad will have to sleep on the couch. Just a couple nights though, so that's not to bad. It beats paying for hotels. I can't wait till we have a house and we can actually have company stay over all the time.

Off to bed, I'm so tired from all that spending. ;)

It's been forever!

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've last wrote. I was in New York for four days and now Den's parents are visiting so I've been pretty busy. I promise you I'll post tons of photos from New York in about a week. Right now there just seems to be no time. I can't wait to share with you our trip to New York. We had a blast and our pictures turned out great. :)

Yesterday was an exciting day too. We drove down to Wilmington to take Den's parents to the aquarium from Valentines day. I love aquariums so much, I have to say my favorite one is Shedds in Chicago, then Monterey Bay (California), and this one (Fort Fisher in North Carolina)

After the Aquarium we had tickets to an event called the Taste of Wilmington. It's where 15 restaurants let you sample some of their food. Sounds fun right? You wouldn't believe how full we were! I had to walk tilted forward because my stomach was so heavy! In the beginning you think, this sample is so small how am I going to get filled up?!? Believe you do! My favorite place was the first restaurant (Elijah's) They sampled Clam chowder, and their world famous crab dip. Both were fantastic, the most amazing clam chowder I have ever tasted. The best part about this event is that we've found so many new restaurants that we would like to try. I grabbed a menu from each place and am excited to try them on date nights. :) Wilmington is about an hour away from us, but there is nothing to do in Jacksonville so we tend to spend most our time down there.

Hopefully I will write to you soon. :)

Valentines Day

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Before I forget, look at the Chocolate festival post I added a picture of Dennis at the demonstration. You would think I've been very busy, but actually I've been sitting around the house. I haven't been lazy or anything, I just have been spending a lot of time with Dennis lately. It's so good to have him home.

Sunday was Valentines day. We had so much fun. That morning Dennis made me a Valentines breakfast. He told me I could pick whatever I wanted to eat. I chose his scrambled eggs since they're so good. He also made me skillet potatoes. Here's a picture.

For lunch I decided to get a little taste of home, so I made Dennis hot dogs Chicago style. :)

Then for dinner we drove down to Wilmington for a Valentines dinner. We decided to treat ourselves since we haven't had a Valentines day together for a long time. We reserved a table at the Fort Fisher Aquarium. This event was an exclusive event where only 26 couples could get a table. It was after hours at the Aquarium, so each couple had their own private tour of the fish. Dennis reserved a table in front of the jelly fish for us. My opinion is that we had the best table in the house. Our room was called the Open Oceans Gallery, from where we sat I could see the Jelly fish behind Dennis, our table was in front of a big fish tank, behind me was the Octopus tank, and several more fish tanks around us. It was amazing! Also the presentation of everything was nice. They had a cute table for two set up with a rose and candle in the middle, a DJ for dancing. 4 course meal starting with a cheese and fruit plate, followed by a cesar salad. For the main course, I had chicken and Dennis had beef. We shared a cake for dessert. Here are some pictures from the event.

feeling puzzled...

I haven't wrote in a couple days because i've been sitting around the house all week. We decided to stay in the apartment a lot since Dennis hasn't really had a lazy day in 6 months. It's been pretty fun.

We did however make it down to Wilmington on Thursday. It was fun, we drove down for lunch and to do some shopping at the mall. The mall in Jacksonville is kind of terrible. This mall is bigger and has a lot more choices. Dennis needed to buy a couple dress shirts for New York and a scarf. Would you believe this weather? New York is supposed to be freezing during our trip and it snowed today in North Carolina. Not just a little snow, snowman kind of snow.

Also Den's sister (Melissa) gave him a 2000 piece Times Square puzzle for Christmas. So we've been working on that while we've been stuck in the house. We've got all but one piece done on the edges and are slowly working on the inside. We spent all day yesterday on it, and decided on ordering a pizza for dinner. I have to say Domino's did fulfil their promise on the new recipe. It was fantastic! The alfredo pizza is the best.

I'll try to write tomorrow about Valentines day if I have time. :)

Lazy day....

I'm not going to have that much to write today. I just wanted to talk about the wonderful dinner Dennis made for me. I started hearing some clatter in the kitchen and had to go investigate. That's when Dennis told me he wanted to make me dinner. I have to say, I'm loving having him home. I offered to set the table, but he told me to relax. After smelling the wonderful aroma from the kitchen it was finally time to taste test. He had wine filled in the glasses, a candle lit, and the table set. It was so cute to see him waiting for me to take my first bite. It was so amazing. He made me Spaghetti Carbonara, cheese toast, and corn. The spaghetti was the star of the show, it had bits of eggs, pancetta, garlic, and olive oil.

While we were eating I asked Dennis different questions about cooking. We cook very differently, I measure everything out and rely on cookbooks. Dennis on the other hand has the amazing gift of throwing things together and its wonderful. I really wish I could cook like that. I would love to take a pinch of oregano, and pair it up with a perfect complement and you'll get the perfect recipe. Maybe in time, and some training I'll get there.

until next time.....

Chocolate Festival.

On Sunday Dennis and I drove down to Morehead City, NC for a Chocolate Festival. I made reservations at a local restaurant for brunch, with award winning bread pudding. The place was so cute. It reminded me of a bed and breakfast. The brunch was really great! We had eggs, salad, breakfast sandwiches, chicken, rice, and of course bread pudding. When we left we were completely stuffed.

No one tells you at a chocolate festival that you're going to have to eat a lot of chocolate. We were so stuffed from the brunch that it was really hard to sample products. The festival was really nice, there were a lot of vendors, and it reminded me of a farmers market. Each vendor had free samples of products to try. I tried to cram them into every inch of free space in my tummy. One of my favorite new things that I tried was a potato chip dipped in chocolate. It should be a sin because it's so good. Also we bought different dip mixes, butterscotch covered peanuts, and chocolate dipped pretzels.

My favorite part of the festival was the demonstration. There was a lady demonstrated how to make crepes suzette. She asked for a volunteer, so immediately I rose my hand. Dennis gave me a look and said "You're really wanting to do this?" So guess what, she must of heard him because she chose him. hahaha It was so funny, he was cracking jokes the whole time he was up there. He even mentioned me as a great cook. :) I had a blast watching him up there, and told him for now on he has to make me crepes for breakfast.

For Dinner we invited Justin, his mom, and Grandma over for dinner. I made pork chops in an apricot sauce, brussel sprouts, green beans, and rice. It was a great dinner! We also cut up cheeses and served them with wine, nuts, and dried fruits before dinner. We love to host dinners for people, and I can't tell you how much I missed it. It was great cooking a big meal again. I'm so happy to have Dennis back and getting back into the swing of things. :)

a little girls dream is coming true!

I finally got back to sleep last night, and thankfully Dennis let me sleep in this morning. :) I made him my best batch of french toast this morning. I was so amazed, I'm usually not good at making breakfast. I think I might still make some bad batches just so Dennis will make breakfast more often...lol ;) He still wins for the better breakfasts.

We had a very busy day today! We went into town and did some shopping. Afterwards met up with our friend Justin and his family. Dennis and Justin work together and went to Iraq together. He's a good friend of ours, and when his family comes out we try to get together with them all the time. It's fun getting to hang out with them. We went to lunch together at one of our favorite local places. It's called the Kettle Diner. Today was their 50's day and all the workers were dressed up in poodle skirts. It was cute.

When we got home Dennis and I watched the Tudors. It's one of our favorite shows. We've watched every season together. This is the third season and it's getting intense. Anne Boleyn has already been murdered and King Henry is on his third wife. I'm looking forward to the season, you learn a lot from this show too. I have to say I'm very impressed with shows like this. They really pack a lot of history in them. I was in awe of the series Rome too for the same reason.

Dennis has been planning a mini vacation in Raleigh for his block leave (vacation time after Iraq) he's been keeping every bit of it a surprise for me. Today he asked me if he could tell me the details. Since it's coming up I told him he could tell me. Boy was I surprised, it turns out were only going to Raleigh to get on a plane for New York! I've always wanted to go to New York since I was a little girl. I'm so amazed that we're going. We will see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State building, ground zero, we're going to watch an Opera, and go to a dessert place called Serendipity. I'm so excited! He kept one event a secret for me because we are celebrating our anniversary that day and it's a surprise. I love him so much, I'm shocked he could keep this a secret so long. I'm so happy. :)

Talk to you later! :)

Trouble sleeping.

I am having the hardest time sleeping! This all started Wednesday night. That was the night before Dennis came home. I had to be up at 2:30 am, so my bright idea was to take a Advil PM to help me sleep at 5:00 pm. What ended up happening was I slept till 8:00 pm and got no other sleep the whole night. Then When I picked up Dennis at 6:00 in the morning we napped all day long. I've been screwed up ever since! Friday night we went to bed at 9:00 and now it's 2:07 in the morning and I'm wide awake. I hope this gets fixed soon. I hate being tired all day.

Yesterday was a crazy day. I got an unexpected call from my old job, Navy Federal Credit Union. They wanted to interview me for a position. I haven't taken an actual interview in a long time and I'm kind of nervous about this one. Everything was on the spot and I had no time to prepare. We could really use the money though, so I'm hoping I get it. I went to the interview and it was 2 hours long, longest interview I've ever been in.

Afterwards Dennis and I went on a date. We went wine tasting at a local place in our town. I found this really great sweet wine, would you believe they were out of the one I liked. How aggravating, why would you have a wine to taste if you couldn't sell it? It tasted like mango's. We ended up buying a different kind from the same maker, this one should taste like pear and apricots. Then we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The food was good and it was nice to get out of the house. I wasn't in a cooking mood.

Once we got home we were both really tired and called it a night early. Hopefully soon we'll get that sleep schedule back in order. I think Dennis is still screwed up with the time zone. Once that gets fixed he should be doing better and we can stay up later. :)

Dennis is home!

After a long time of patiently waiting, Dennis finally made it home. :) The second I saw him we hugged, kissed, and told each other "Never again!" I think we've both realized that deployments suck. Don't get me wrong, I'm so proud of him, and love that he did this for his country. We're just ready to be together now. We've tackled two deployments and now we're waiting for the end of his enlistment. We have 7 months, it seems like it will go by in a flash.

I had a lot of fun this morning. I woke up at 2:30 am to a phone call from Dennis. He called to tell me the plane landed. After that I started getting ready and made it to the battalion by 4:30. The boys were late leaving the airport so instead of an arrival at 5:00 am like it was supposed to be, they came at 6:00. When we got home, Dennis wanted to make me breakfast. I was so happy about that because he makes the best breakfast ever! He made scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and toast. It was pretty tasty. We also celebrated Christmas today. After Dennis opened all his presents we slept, all day long. LOL I finally woke up at 2:00 pm because I'm afraid I wont sleep tonight, Dennis is still sleeping from jet lag.

I better get going in case he wakes up.

Girls night out!

Today has been such a wonderful day. It all started at 2:00 am. Dennis gave me his last phone call in Iraq. How exciting is that? I've been having trouble sleeping since i've been alone so I was already up when he called. We talked for a long time, pretty much about how excited we are to see each other. He's pretty talented on the phone because the second I got off I felt peaceful and ready to sleep.

Then around 2:00 pm my friend Anna came over for a visit. We drove down to Wilmington and went shopping. The drive to Wilmington is great because it's an hour long so we spent most of it talking about our husbands. After shopping Anna got a mani/pedi, I was around for connversation. :) I was going to get one too, but my nails look terrible so I decided not to. It was still fun to get out of the house and talk to someone. We also went to a wonderful Italian restaurant. I can't pronounce the name, and theres no way I would be able to spell it. It's amazing though. I got penne in Vodka sauce, it's to die for. The bread is really good too.

I am so ready for Dennis to get here. Everything is cleaned up and put away. All I have left to do is hang pictures tomorrow. I am planning on getting up super early tomorrow so I'm really sleepy that night. I want to go to bed EARLY. I can't tell you how amazing it's going to be to have my husband back. We've been waiting so long for this very moment. The fact that he wont be leaving again is a plus too. :)

Off to hang some pictures. :)

You can do it.....

So I am sitting in my second bedroom literally staring at my elliptical machine. A machine that I used to love to get on. Now I am afraid of it! It's been packed away for 6 months, I am afraid I've lost everything. I have been telling myself all week that I would get on it and still I just sit here. I'm actually in my work out clothes now, and still nothing. So, I've decided that I'm not going to let 6 months stand in my way. I have to get back into that healthy spirit that I had. I already mastered the eating portion, but the working out is an important step too. If I plan on having any kids in the future I have to be healthy. I don't want to deprive my children of fun because Mommy cant get up. lol I have to say a couple years ago I was that lazy.

So today I hung out with Becca all day. She made me grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch, a childhood favorite. I must really miss my childhood because my favorite foods are grilled cheese and tomato soup, and mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs in it. lol I guess I'm a kid at heart. We also did some shopping in town. It was so nice to get out of the apartment and hang out with a friend. Sometimes I get cabin fever in here.

Well I better go climb that mountain. The best part of working out is that you always get an award at the end. There hasn't been a time that I've worked out where I haven't felt amazing afterwards. I know that it sucks when you do it, but the end result is amazing. So wish me luck everyone. I'm going to need it. ;)

Operation clean house = FAIL!

Once again I have done nothing, I repeat NOTHING to my apartment. You would think I would get myself on track here. I guess I shouldn't say nothing, I finally found a spot for my stay and go crock pot. It was just sitting on my kitchen floor, so I guess the kitchen is completely done. :)

Also, today I put my new bed sheets on my bed. I bought 1200 count Egyptian cotton sheets. They feel like silk, it's amazing. I can't wait to sleep in them. Right now I've been sleeping in the second bedroom since Dennis isn't here. It doesn't feel right sleeping in our bed without him. Also it kind of makes me sad. I know I sound like a wimp here, but honestly I'm not alone very often. I live with my parents when Dennis is deployed so this is kind of new to me. I'm handling it as good as I can, but I have no idea how most of the wives do it. I would go insane with boredom!

I decided to continue cooking. I LOVE to cook so much, it's what keeps me happy. I was living off sandwiches and grew tired of them quickly. Today I made myself a 5 star meal. Spaghetti Squash, with a veggie sauce. I used prepared sauce but added garlic, chopped onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and turkey bacon. It was fantastic if I don't say so myself. Completely healthy too because there is no carbs in the dish. :)

I have been reading a lot since Dennis has been deployed. Last night I finished The Time Travelers Wife and now I am reading For Women Only. The first book was kind of strange but good. I'm amazed that I kept with the book. It's kind of difficult to read because it jumps back and forth a lot, because of all the time traveling. I would still recommend it, the movie comes out on video Feb. 5Th so I'm excited to see it and compare. The second book is really good too. It's supposed to teach me what men are thinking. I believe that Dennis thinks I'm a great wife, but it wouldn't hurt to listen in on what guys want in a wife. It's interesting so far, I'll let you know what I really think when I'm finished.

Oh most importantly.....I got my hair cut today. I'm pretty excited about the cut. I haven't taken any photos of it because I want to surprise Dennis with it. I'll start posting pictures on here when he returns. Hopefully I can get a homecoming photo of us. The cut is super cute though, it frames my face and now I have bangs. I took off some of the length, but it's still below my shoulders. Dennis really likes my hair long, and honestly I do look better with it long. I cut it short once and almost cried every day till it grew back. hahaha

Well all I need to go stare at the mess I haven't touched yet. Take care!

Very tired....

Honestly I have done nothing all day long. I have noticed being alone has made me very lazy! I go to bed a a decent hour, wake up around 10:00 am for Den's phone call. I pretty much read, and I'm trying not to watch to much TV. That's the worst part, the TV really distracts me from all the work I need to be doing. I still have the second bedroom to tackle, my bedroom, and Becca dropped off a bunch of kitchen stuff I had her saving for me. Yikes, I have to get this done!!! I am sitting around the house, thinking I have months to do this stuff. Tomorrow's my day. I have decided to get up early and clean, clean, clean. :)

Also tomorrow I am planning to get my haircut. It's way to long and really hard to take care of. I might also get bangs. I like bangs because it lightens my hair, and I really need that here because it gets so hot in the summer. Also I need to get my hair thinned for the same reason. My only concern is that I usually hate my hair after I get it cut, so I hope it looks perfect considering Den's coming home so soon.

This afternoon Becca came over for a short visit. We had leftover chili from yesterday, and hot dogs to go with. I was explaining to her what all went on a Chicago hot dog. I think she prefers regular dogs, honestly I agree. The only part of a Chicago dog that I like is the seeded bun. Thanking about Chicago dogs reminds me of Portillo's, oh how I miss that place. They have the best french fries with cheese sauce. Also there chocolate cake shake...mmmm It has a piece of cake in the vanilla shake, how good does that sound! ;)

While Becca was here I gave her some of my old summer dresses. She did a fashion show for me in them and they looked stunning on her. I'm happy someone can get some good use out of them. She also came up with some creative ideas to make straps for them.

Well I better get some good sleep tonight if I want to tackle these rooms....