R and R

stands for REST and RELAXATION...

The time has already come and gone for Eric to spend his mid-tour leave here in California. I took him back to the airport this morning and the huge brick that left when he arrived has some how managed to come back to find me. Its a good thing there are still good people in this world, I was lucky enough to be able to walk him to the gate and stay with him until he boarded the plane, so that made the good bye a little easier. The past 15 days flew by faster than I ever could have imagined and I'm so sad he's gone again. We had the best 2 weeks together ever and I will post about everything we did soon. So until then, if you call or text and I don't answer, its not personal, I'm just taking a day or two for myself. And a big HUGE thanks to all of my friends and Family for their amazing support for both Eric and I during all of this. Please keep Eric and all of our troops in your thoughts and pray I can pull it together.

Its true...

He's really here!!!!

I am not dead...just kind of!

After the hassle by a few people, I have finally decided to update my blog! Ive missed witting and I do come on almost daily to read other's blogs, but I just don't seem to have much to write about! So here are the facts on whats been going on over the past 4 or so weeks!

1) Thanksgiving: I spent it in Orange County with Sherri and her family! I had a blast to say the least. Even colored my own place mat and had a nice spot at the kids table! BE JEALOUS!!

2) Weight Watchers: In the past 4 weeks, I have lost 4.2 pounds! Thats right people, I have in fact lost! Sure I could have lost more if I truly stuck to program and tracked like I should be doing, but I'm working on it!!

3) Christmas stuff: I got up super early on Black Friday and was in line for Kohl's at 3:45 with my Nana, Aunt Kim, Sherri and Sandy. Did I buy gifts? NO! I only bought a few things for myself but whatever! In other gifts, I am done shopping for everyone! And I mean it! I still have lots to do, like finish making things. I would tell you what Im making but everyone they are for reads this blog so mums the word!

4) Woke up at 7:30 today and got to the post office at 8:37, 7 minutes after they opened and I still had to wait in line for like 30 minutes! But I did get my one box sent off and 50 or so Christmas cards! Thank goodness I don't have to go back!

5) In the news of Eric, he will be on his way home for leave in 4 or so days!! Can you believe it?!? I sure cant! I'm not sure when he will officially get into town, but it doesn't matter, I am still so so so excited!!

So there you have it! Thats pretty much what I have been up to over the past 4 weeks! A big HI to my dad since he will read this! I have a million things to do before Eric gets here so I have to get my booty moving! Ill try to post before he gets in, but if not, Ill see you in January!

Billy Blanks...

And I now have a LOVE, HATE relationship!

So today I wanted to work out to my Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVD. I have had this DVD in my collection for who knows how long but I never attempted to work out to it. Well today while shopping for fruit I decided I wanted to go home and try the video. And TRY I did!! I almost died after the first 10 minutes but I am so proud to say I stuck it out until the very end! I had rough time, even cried once or twice but I still had so much fun! I'm already sore but I cant wait to do it again!

Thanks BILLY!!!

PS: I hope to look like those ladies on the video, only not so many muscles!

Therapy, Weight Watchers and MORE!!!

This week has been pretty good so far and seems to be very busy! As I said before, I decided to seek help from a therapist regarding all the issues I've been having since Eric left. I had to wait about a week and a half before I could get seen. Time kind of moved along really really slow and finally Sunday night came thats when I get really nervous.

My appointment was on Monday at 10am and I made sure to leave in plenty of time. Its a good thing I did because for some reason I had two different addresses written down and went to the wrong one first! Silly me :) But I made it on time. I walked into the office and you can imagine how shocked I was so find that there was no front desk or a receptionist. I immediately started thinking "What kind of doctors office doesnt have a receptionist?" You will imagine the huge shock I got when I looked at the wall and saw 4 light switches and there was a big sign that read, "Please flip the switch next to your doctors name to announce your arrival." I think I almost feel over at that point. In my opinion kind of tacky but maybe its the norm with Therapists offices, who knows! I started to feel a little uneasy after that. About 10 minutes later my therapist came out. She was very friendly and eager to get started! (This was starting to make up for the light switch incident!) After she asked me the usual questions we finally got started.

I cant tell you a whole lot of what was said but it just felt so good to talk. And I'm pretty sure I talked and talked and talked! I could have stayed there for hours on end. It was so nice to hear everything I have been thinking and feeling is normal. We talked about everything from deployment, my family, his family, friends whatever you name it! The one thing she did say is that I need to find better use of my time. Which is really true. "My name is Kaylee and I'm and unemployed Army wife with a deployed husband!" I spend most of my days doing whatever and I have no schedule at all. So she thinks I need to get in some sort of routine which I probably do! So that's my goal this week, even if I do the same things as always (Spend endless hours on MSN messenger, reading books, writing letters, whatever you can do in the house I do! lol) is to put it in some sort of order! I go back next Monday and I'm hoping it goes just as well.

On another SUPER EXCITING note! I have joined WEIGHT WATCHERS!!! Yes that's right my friends, I have committed to hopping aboard the weight loss train. This is something that I have struggled with all my life but I think there is no better time than now to get the ball rolling! So my mom and I went yesterday and got all signed up! I was totally depressed when I stood on that scaled because this is the heaviest I have been in my life but its a new journey from this point forward. I have many reasons for wanting to do it now. First, Eric and I want to lead healthier and much more active life-styles when he gets home. He has already lost 25-30 pounds since he has been gone which is amazing! That means I have some catching up to do! I also want to have a healthy body for when we decide to have babies. I want to be a cute pregnant woman not just a girl who looks over weight the entire time and no one knows they are prego. I have started meal planning and am so so excited for this to begin! I weigh in on Tuesdays so look forward to next week and pray I do well!! I also plan to journal my ups and downs with Weight Watchers. A huge shout out to my amazing husband for being so supportive of me and all of this even though your half way around the world! I love you!!

On another Eric note, I'm so excited to announce that he will be coming home on leave very very soon! I cant say when because I have to honor OSPEC, but I am beyond ready to see his chubby cheeks! My family and I have a lot planned for when he gets here but its going to be so nice having him home for 2 full weeks! I cant wait to be with him again and I'm sure you will figure out when hes here since I will be MIA!!

Not much else is really going on, I have been reading a lot of books! And at this point it has taken me forever to come back and finish this blog! So not much else to say, Enjoy and keep blogging!!

I swear...

I seriously thought about posting everything that needs to be posted but,

a NAP

READING

and MEAL PLANNING all sound way more exciting!

Miss you all, pray for me that I will post soon.

thanks!

Keep them in your thoughts...

Elizabeth Davis and Catlin Swift...

i MiSs YoU!!!

So before I was married and living the life of an Army Wife, I lived in Bremerton Washington with the 2 best room mates/friends a girl could ask for. Liz, I have known since high school and Cat I met from Liz when we first moved to B-town. As I'm going through some things right now, I notice myself looking back to the days when things were a lot more simple. We always had so much fun together and now we are all doing different things and living in different parts of the United States. Liz is now married and a mom to a beautiful baby girl living in Idaho and Cat is dating Daniel, playing volleyball for college and living in Olympia Washington. I've been wanting to do this post for a while but it hasn't been the right time until today. So heres to 2 of the girls I look up to more than words can express! Here's what I miss most about them and us! Love you girls and miss you so much!!

I miss Liz's breakfast of toast, eggs and bacon. I also miss living off cereal and chorizo with eggs and tortillas.

I miss taking the ferry and spending the day in Seattle eating Greek food, Indian food and just people watching.

I miss getting all dressed up to go out dinner for birthdays or just because we feel like it.

I miss going to Albertson's at like midnight dressed in boxers, sweat shirts and boots to make fun of the boys who work there.

I miss going to the Army Surplus store and messing around with all the discoveries and having people stare at us.

I miss dressing up for Spokane Shock games for mascot races and thinking we were really cool for bring on the promotion team.

I miss making homemade gifts. And spending 90% of our time is sweats and comfy clothes. (this is what happens when both of them are volleyball players!)

I miss dressing up for Halloween, going to a corn maze, trick-or-treating and a party or two!

I miss having Liz as my date for prom and drinking milk with ice.

I miss eating Gooey's at the resort until we were sick. Running into bad dates, walking around the boardwalk and making bets with boys on how many of these huge ice cream sundays they could actually finish!

I miss driving to Seattle just so we could go to Jamba Juice, PF changes and The Rack.

I miss considering myself Mormon by association so I can go to girls camp and canoe my heart out.

I miss going roller skating and bowling.

I miss when I had a bad day, they were always there which chocolate cake, coke, fruit snacks and any other junk food we needed to get through our bad day.

I miss making noise and taking silly pictures everywhere we went.

I miss sleeping in Liz's bed with Patch too.

I miss being with each other during some of the best and most important moments in our lives.

I miss driving around in Liz's truck, blasting music and getting pulled over by cops who ask stupid questions.

I miss eating Mexican food all the time. They were pretty much both half Mexican like me!

I miss having my room "HEART ATTACKED" for my birthday then returning the favor on their birthday.

I miss staying up and watching movies even though I was always the first to fall asleep.

I miss making dresses out of foil and doing rain dances in the kitchen at 2am to help certian things happen in life.

I miss talking all night and laughing until my stomach hurt.

I miss getting snow in B-town and going to play in it during the middle of the night.

I miss acting like big dorks and always having fun no matter who is watching.

I miss taking road trips to Idaho, going to rodeos and showing Cat the Idaho way of life.

I miss playing board games like "You might be a redneck if..." and using our best hillbilly voices.

The thing I miss the most is just being with each other all the time. We are all in different parts of our lives at this point but I'm so glad I had the chance to grow so much with these girls at my side!

I love you both :)

I've got nothing...

So lately I've pretty much been a hermit crab in this huge ocean we call life. I got some bad news from Eric last week and I haven't exactly been the same since. Before Eric left, I started having what I think were panic attacks. They are rare but have been happening more frequently. I was on the phone with him the other night and was extremely upset over something and I completely hyperventilated. I think it scared him as well as me. That's when I decided it was the final straw and I needed to get some help. I called Military One Source and I am so grateful to have such an awesome resource at my finger tips. The woman I dealt with was great and Im looking forward to what lies ahead. I was set up with a doctor whom I go to see next Monday, wish me luck I need it.

I've been doing a whole lot of keeping to myself over this past week and I cant say that I really have a desire to go out and be with my friends. I always feel like a burden for only ever talking about Eric, or what hes going through or what I'm going through. Its nothing against my friends at all and I'm glad they are here for me but something is still just missing. Maybe its that I sit back and feel guilty for being some place without Eric. I still feel lost without him and everything is much more dull and boring without him. My friends are starting to notice his lack of presence also. I sometimes feel like I need some pity and for someone to just tell me everything will be OK and not try to lecture me on how I should be talking to Eric, or what we should be saying to each other.

Its really tough and I think I'm honestly ready for this chapter of our lives to be over. We need to be together again and continue to build a strong relationship not only for ourselves but for our future children. Ill be glad when its over, in roughly 252 days.

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO AND EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!!!!!

I'm not exactly sure how I am feeling at this moment other than I had the most horrible night of sleep and awful awful dreams. The one thing about the Army that is so bitter sweet is the fact that I have to keep my mouth shut about certain things it drives me nuts!! I know its for the safety of Eric and the rest of his men but if you know me at all, you know I love to talk and I always feel much better when I get things off my chest rather than hold them in.

I think last night I had my first really big mental break down since this deployment started when I got a phone call from my amazing husband with some news that ripped my heart right out. I started crying and couldn't stop for a good little while. I thought I was going to hyperventilate and pass out which I'm pretty sure could have been the case. Right now I'm going through all these crazy emotions for so many different things.

First, I'm wondering what the hell is going to happen as far as the troops are concerned. Are they going to be sent more help in Afghanistan? Or are they going to have to continue to watch people die right in front of their eyes? I really hope that our amazing president (note the sarcasm!) can pull his crap together and figure this stuff out. I know he's to busy to worry about the troops but he has plenty of time to worry about trying to get the US to be the next place to hold the Olympics. Just for the record, I never voted for him and I'm so glad I didn't because he continues to make me hate him almost every single flipping day. Please watch this video so you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

I'm now more scared for Eric and a whole bunch of other boys than I ever had been since they left. Not to say that I didn't worry about them but I know they are a great group of boys and I really hope they all come home. I'm not really making any sense right now but I want to scream! I feel so helpless and that I my opinion and the safety of my husband doesn't matter to anyone who can make a difference. Only to my friends, family and my extended military family who knows what its like and what I'm going through. This is going to be a rough couple of days, weeks, or months, Im not sure at this point but I really hope that I can make it through for Eric and that nothing happens to him or anyone else. I am begging you please PLEASE PLEASE, keep Eric as well as all the other troops in your thoughts and prayers. They really need it at this point.

And also one more thing, if you have a husband, wife, fiance, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever, tell them how much they mean to you and don't spend time worrying or arguing about stuff that in the end doesn't really matter. Because it could all be taken from you without a warning of any kind. I love you more than life Eric and I'm so proud of you. Stay strong, and continue to put your heart in everything you do and Ill be waiting for you when you get home. Your my hero :)

Happy 21st Birthday to ME!!

I really had some mixed feelings about turning 21, on one hand I was so excited that I actually made it to my 21st birthday! Growing up that seemed like a million years away but it finally happened. I was also looking forward to being able to get a drink when I go out to eat with my parents or Eric. What can I say, I like beer :) But on the other hand I was sad Eric wasn't going to be here to enjoy it with me. And I also thought what the heck else do I have to look forward to after this birthday! My cousin then reminded me of how great life really is and how many more fun times and memories I will have to look forward to. So this is pretty much the events in my day! Its long and I will document it all for like purposes, so sorry if you don't drink or you don't like drinking. It was the best birthday ever, the only thing missing was Eric!!

After an extremely long drive from Idaho to California Sunday, I turned 21 in the car while passing through Woodland California. When I finally got to my house around 12:30, Kaitlyn was waiting with flowers balloons and a card. She then took me to Win Co to buy something just because I could! Please don't judge me for my awesome outfit, lack of make up or even a shower for that matter! It was 1 am..

Here I am walking to the cash register with my six pack of New Castle, I chose this simply because its what we had for Eric's birthday and he loves it!

WOO HOO!!! Outside Win Co with my drinks. It was a weird feeling and I thought I was going to get in trouble at any given moment, but I didnt :)

Here's me with my drinks!! I drank one for you Eric!!

After the store Kaitlyn and I went back to my house where I enjoyed one beer and opened my cards and mail sent from Eric as well as various family members! Thanks to you all!

Eric's sister Rhonda made me this deployment flag and I love it! Its really hard to find one and she totally surprised me with this. Its amazing and I cant wait to hang it in my house some where!

After I slept from 2:30 to 7:30am I was wide awake and beyond excited for the upcoming night ahead. So I went to the salon and enjoyed a pedicure and got my nails filled. The lady did and amazing job and it was so relaxing!! After that I picked Lexus up from school and headed to the mall to try and find something to wear. It didn't work out in my favor so I wore something I already owned! I met up with my Mom, Rich, Grandparents and Amanda for some drinks at El Toritos!

Rich, Me and my Mom.

Me with a huge strawberry margarita, I also had a peach raspberry one that was delish!

DRINK COUNT SO FAR:2

After drinks we went my grandparents house for cake and presents!

Me and my amazing mom, isn't she so cute!

My yummy chocolate black out cake

After cake and presents, I headed to BJ's Brew House with Amanda, Kaila and Stacey. We enjoyed avocado egg rolls, buffalo chicken pizza and a world famous Pazookie! It was so good!! I also had a raspberry lemon drop and a Surfer on Acid shooter

Me with my Raspberry Lemon Drop

DRINK COUNT AFTER DINNER: 4

After dinner we headed to the Grad for some dancing and drinking for me!

The stamp on my head got me a free drink :) A birthday shot to be exact!

My new friend Andreas also bought me a German Chocolate Cake shot which was amazing! if you have never had one, do, you wont regret it!

I also had a Pineapple Kamikaze and something else that I don't remember!

Amanda, me and Kaitlyn

Stacy and I taking a break from dancing!

These are the drinks that did me in, the shot glass was put into the other yellow stuff and drank quickly. The red one is a KGB and the other is a Long Island Ice Tea.

DRINK COUNT AFTER THE GRAD: 12!

My new friend Andreas that bought me my first drink.

Me dancing to "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake

It was a long night after we got home and I was beyond hungover on Tuesday. But overall I think it was the best 21st birthday I could have asked for except Eric wasn't there. I again realized why it is I rarely drink and I remembered that after being sick. Heres to being 21 and happy birthday to me!!

Head Band Giveaway!!

One of the days I will win something from a blog give away. Suzi is having a give away and shes amazing! Check her out and sign up!!

http://hammyscrafts.blogspot.com/

Another update...

As you may or may not have notice I have been MIA for a while. Why you ask? To be honest I have no idea!! Life has just been a little crazy and a little busy. I took a road trip to Washington a few weeks ago. I had a lot of fun visiting my cousin. I remember why I love Washington so much and Im beyond ready to go back.

While I was there I attended the memorial for 3 fallen soldiers from Eric's unit. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done and I honestly hope I never have to go to another one alone without my boy again. Going on base was a weird experience for sure. Fort Lewis is really big and holds a ton of soldiers. Before the boys left, it was like a mad house any time I had to go there. This time, not so much. It was a ghost town to say the least. Very very depressing if I do say so myself. It made me miss my friends, all the memories and of course my husband. I long for the day when we can all be together again.

After Washington I came over to Idaho! Its a great place but sucks when you have no car to get anywhere. Long story as to why I don't have a car but I really don't want to get into that. I must have good karma and I dont like talking about people. Im still in Idaho waiting for my parents to drive up so we can go back to California on Sunday. I've been spending a lot of time at my aunts house and with Sabrina. I found these super cute cow boy boots yesterday and I really want them but who knows if I will get them.

In other news, I turn 21 on Monday and I'm not sure how I really feel about this. Sure I am very excited that I can finally buy beer, wine or a drink when I go out to dinner. But at the same time, what birthdays after this do I have to look forward to?! 25 when my car insurance goes down lol! I'm also a little bummed that Eric wont be here with me. Oh well, Ill get over it!

On the Eric front, Afghanistan seems to be doing ok. I get really annoyed by the fact that some of the boys there find it alright to eat other peoples food and snacks. I like sending Eric enough so he can share but I don't like it when they take without asking. He is supposed to get r&r in December and I am really looking forward to it. I miss him like crazy of course but I am more proud of him every day he completes his missions and gets his job done!

Thats all thats been going on here and I haven't had anything happen that really needs to be blogged about. Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading!!!!

This is an old pic of Eric and I that I had to share :)

Loss...

Whenever someone looses someone close to them, I find it really hard to find words to help make them feel better. Sometimes it seems as if there is nothing that can be said to make the situation better. This past week my Best Friend Liz Shaver lost her brother-in-law Naki Maile. He was 32 years old and died suddenly. He leaves behind his wonderful wife Abby and 6 beautiful girls, ages 1-9. As you can imagine Abby as well as the girls will have a strong battle ahead in many different ways. An account has been set up for them during this tough time. It would be really great if you can donate anything at all to help this amazing family out. Please keep all of them in your prayers as they deal with this difficult time. Here are links to their family blog and website where you can donate. Thank you :)

http://www.nakisgirls.com/

http://sixmailechix.blogspot.com/

Procrastination

I have like a billion and one blogs to post but you know me, I PROCRASTINATE in life on a daily basis. You would think since I'm a stay at home wife at the moment, I could find time to post in my very very busy schedule (note the sarcasm...) but I just cant yet! Add it to the list that's a million miles long of things to do before my trip. I'm going to try my darnedest to post this weekend. Miss you all and sorry if I haven't commented your posts!

So...

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN? AND WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS?

Im going to Disneyland and I think Im going to be a pirate!! Arrrrr!!

CHECK, CHECK, CHECK HER OUT...

CHECK THAT FUNKY PITCHER OUT!!

IS SHE HIGH OR IS SHE LOW...

IS SHE FAST OR IS SHE SLOW...

I heard that cheer along with like 50 other ones about 20 billion times over this past weekend. Lexus plays softball on a competitive traveling league here in Roseville. I always played soccer and volleyball so I didn't know a darn thing about softball. I have been to one other tournament but during the one this past weekend, I actually brought my camera!! So this post is dedicated to you miss Lexi Lou!!

We had to go to Yuba City for a two day tournament. Which consisted of 3 games on Saturday then 2 on Sunday. I could go into the logistics of how seeding works and all that stuff but its confusing lol!! This is how the weekend went:

SATURDAY:

Our weekend started bright and early, her first game was at 9:30 which meant we had to be there at 8:30 and it was about an hour away so we had to leave at 7! I haven't been up that early in sooo long but it was well worth it!! I would tell you what happened during each game, but I honestly don't remember!! Our second game was at 12:30 and our last game was at 3pm. Here's how it went:

Game 1: WON!!

Game 2: lost :(

Game 3: WON!!

Ill tell you what happened Sunday later in the post but here's some pics to hold you over!

This is the only picture of us all weekend! Once we got around her team, she was WAY to cool to talk to me :)

Walking to the field for her first game Saturday!

I just liked this pic, shes so cute!

Warming up with a little run...

There's a lot of pictures I left out! So these next ones are from both Saturday and Sunday. Lexus does great but she gets a little nervous sometimes when its her turn to bat.

This is probably the best pic I took the whole weekend! Her form is great!

Trying to steal a base to make it to the home plate.

So during the summer and all previous season she played in the outfield. Not to long ago, her coaches decided to move her to 3rd base and she has been doing great! She made a couple small mistakes this weekend, but all the girls did at one point or another. Lexus also helped her team do very well!!

Down and ready for the pitch

Im not sure if she caught a ball her during the game or during the practice time before the inning starts.

Trying to steal another base...

In between games, the girls have lots of down time. And on Sunday their first game was at 8am and the Championship, yes I said CHAMPIONSHIP game wasn't until 12:30 and they were bored out of their minds! Talk about trying to get 14 10-11 year olds entertained for 3.5 hours without them over working themselves!

Here they are playing truth or dare, very funny to listen to lol

Practicing their chants and trying to keep themselves busy for 45 more minutes until the championship game!

As I said previous, they made it to the championship game. And let me tell you, they did awesome!! We didn't end up winning but they didn't stop without giving the other team a great fight. The game was tied at the bottom of the 7th so they had to go into over time. They played amazingly well and Lexus was in the whole game! Congrats girlies!!

Team huddle before the final game.

At the coin toss, they all wanted to go as a team

Lexus playing 3rd base.

As you notice, most of their hats are upside down and who would have thought this was important?!?! This is know as "RALLY CAPS" the were all so nervous at the end of the game

Waiting for their 2nd place medals and trophy

Lucy with her medal

The wonderful girls of the Roseville Thunder

Lex with the trophy

CONGRATS GIRLS FOR TAKING SECOND PLACE AND GOOD LUCK AT THE NEXT TOURNAMENT!!

This will be quick I promise!

This was way too funny not to share. One of the girls has a brother named Chase and he is pictured below. Hes 13 I want to say and for the most part all of those girls are in LOVE with him! He was only there on Saturday and any down time the girls had, they were all following or watching him. Its so funny to watch because I remember being just like that :)

The infamous Chase

All of the girls carefully watching him practice baseball stuff with his dad

Still watching again :)

I love softball and I cant wait for the next tournament in 2 weeks!!