Monje's World

Halloween 2011

2011-11-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

This year I was so excited for Halloween because we had a new baby and EVERY excuse to dress up!!

Now, I instantly knew what Eric and Seth were going to be but I had a really hard time deciding how I would fit into the equation!

These were my inspiration!

And here we are :D

I made my entire costume and came up with Eric and Seths also!

Me and Toadette

Eric and Seth

Seth and I

Eric and I

We didnt do a whole lot, we went to lunch at Red Robin, took Seth to the doctor, watched movies and football and handed out candy! A great first halloween for Seth if you ask me, I cant wait for next year!!!!

Pumpkin Carving!

2011-10-31T00:08:00.000-06:00

So I figured I should try and keep up with this blog now that Seth is here! I am going to try my hardest and one of these days, Ill fill you in on the last 8 weeks! Yes thats right, Seth is 8 weeks old already! Time is flying by and it really needs to slow way way down. We carved pumpkins tonight and it was so much fun! Here are a few pics :)

ENJOY!!

Seth staring at the lights like usual!

Clearly pissed about this pumpkin carving nonsense!

Eric carving!

All finished and still pissed

Mattie with her pumpkin

Worst picture ever but you get the idea!

Erics handle bar mustache!

All finished!!

Seth Arthur Monje

2011-09-10T19:43:00.000-06:00

Seth Arthur Monje

August 31, 2011 at 3:50am

6 pounds 13 ounces, 22 inches long

Most boring life EVER!

2011-03-17T21:21:00.000-06:00

I pretty much lead the most boring life ever!

Seriously, nothing exciting happens!

although, I have been in super cleaning mode the last few days!

Which means my house is SPOTLESS and I love it!

SO heres to nothing going on in my life...

I leave you with another belly picture (because Im that cool and boring ;))

Oh and MARK your calendars

APRIL 14TH AT 8AM WE FIND OUT WHAT WE ARE HAVING!

10 things...

2011-03-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up today in a really really crappy mood...and I was being super grumpy! So grumpy, that I was in fact going to write a post on things that are annoying to me right now...

BUT

I decided to try and make a positive out of a negative and do a post on:

10 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY!!!!

So here they are in a random order!

1) Babies and planning for my own

Mini Kaylee last summer!

2) Spending time with Eric

Decorating for Halloween 2008

3) San Francisco

One of my all time favorite places, ever! I have been going there my entire life and miss it so so much!

Eric and I waiting to ride the Trolly December 2009

4) Disneyland...enough said

My brother, Mom and Step Dad Rich, Disneyland December 2009

5) Yummy Food (Especially when Im not sick)

California State Fair 2009, Hot Dog on a Stick and Cheese On a Stick

6) Best Friends

7) My Family!

Mom and RIch, California State Fair 2009

8) Finding old pictures (Sorry its sideways!)

Me and my uncle Mario 1989

9) My moms baking!! (sorry for the tiny pics)

10) Fresh Fruit ( I cant get enough of it right now)

There! 10 things that make me happy, now I feel better and I hope your having a better day than me!

Behold the baby bump!

2011-02-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am now 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant! Crazy how time flies and how fast its going!

I've managed to loose almost 30 POUNDS (which im trying to gain weight but am having a hard time!)

So if you knew me before you will see i've lost weight but my tummy is HUGE!

My great grandma told my mom that God told her to pray for two babies

so maybe its twins lol!!!!

What to eat, what to eat?!? So many choices!

2011-02-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

OK NOT REALLY!!!

I have been pregnant for almost 12 WEEKS now, can you believe it?!? I can't! so I can because I have had to joy of the most amazing morning sickness ever (note the sarcasm please!!!!)

So awesome in fact that I have managed to loose 22 whole pounds which have my midwives concerned so now Im at the doctors every week until I out a few back on.

Thank you baby!

Since I am so sick due to the fact that everything grosses me out, I am down to a handful of things that I can manage to eat without throwing up! Making progress slowly lol! So here they are in no order:

CEREAL WITH MILK!!!

My favorites these days are Capn Crunch and honey bunches of oats. I eat cereal every morning for breakfast and usually one other time of the day.

J-E-L-L-O!

Now this isnt my first choice but I keep it down so I eat it, DAILY!

MINI BAGELS with CREAM CHEESE

I could eat these all day long...THE END

POP TARTS!

I have hated pop tarts my entire life, I used to only eat my sisters crust because she loved the middle, now though, I cant get enough but dont worry Ive only eaten one box

YOGURT

Raspberry to be exact, it takes me a while to get through one thing but I manage.

I have never had a hard time with food until now and it literally takes every bone in my body to eat on a daily basis. I am blogging about this purely so I can remember it when my child is older. I am hoping that things start getting better soon so I can be more healthy for the growing baby inside me!

Maternity Clothes...

2011-02-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

While I am only 10 weeks pregnant and have lost probably close to 15 pounds from being so sick all the time, my pants seem to have gotten to where they dont fit. I have noticed this for the past week or so but figured it was way WAY to soon to buy maternity clothes.

After some serious research (ok not that serious) I learned that every body is different and some people show sooner than others. I think the fact that I already have a some what fluffy stomach, it has started to turn more round lol! I figured that it would be a breeze to find something,

but boy was I SO wrong!!!!!

I was surprised at how many places dont carry maternity clothes in store at least around here! (thanks Sears and JC Penneys!) I found a pair at target but of course when I go back to buy them they werent there! Just my luck! I begged Eric to drive me to the next town over and we got super lucky at OLD NAVY!!!! Not only did they only have one pair in my size but it was also military discount day! THank goodness!

So from here I ask you,

Where have you had the most luck with Maternity clothes and how far along were you when you made the switch?

Next time Ill be taking a trip to Fort Collins where there are plenty of place to buy maternity clothes!

a mini MONJE....

2011-01-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

WELL PART OF THE REASON I HAVE BEEN M.I.A IS THANKS TO THE LITTLE CRITTER INSIDE ME!! THATS RIGHT PEOPLE, WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS AND HAVE OUR OWN LITTLE BABY AT THE END OF AUGUST EARLY SEPTEMBER AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER.

I HAVE BEEN SUPER SUPER SICK AND IT HAS MADE LIFE KIND OF TOUGH. WE HAD OUR FIRST ULTRASOUND TODAY AND IT WAS SO AWESOME TO SEE THE LITTLE HEART GOING A MILLION MILES A MINUTE AND THE LITTLE BABY.

SO, IM ALREDY TAKING A POLL,

BOY OR GIRL?!?!?!

AND PLEASE PRAY AND SEND US GOOD THOUGHTS THAT THINGS CONTINUE TO GO WELL FOR THE BABY AND THE NEXT 3 WEEKS FLY BY SO IM IN MY 2ND TRIMESTER!!

Finally!!!!!

2010-12-30T15:47:00.001-07:00

WELL FRIENDS,

TODAY ERIC AND I CLOSED ON OUR VERY FIRST HOME!!!!

I COULDNT BE MORE EXCITED ABOUT IT AND ALL OF THE GREAT THINGS HAPPENING!

SO IT ALSO MEANS I WONT HAVE MY COMPUTER UP AND RUNNING UNTIL WEDNESDAY.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT I CANT WAIT TO POST PICTURES!!!

A little prayer please

2010-12-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Now I know Im slacking on my blog big time but Ive been busy,

get off my back sheesh! jk ;)

any way, Please please please say a prayer for Eric and I as we continue our home buying journey as we are almost done but we have gotten to a bump in the road that could make or break buying all together.

So please a prayer fingers crossed whatever it is you believe in! Thank you and I promise to blog soon!!

Letters To Random

2010-12-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Dear House,

Thank you for passing the inspection today with only minor problems so that we can still move along in the buying process! I love you so much and I cant wait to make you our own.

Dear VA (Veterans Administration),

Please please please hurry up with the appraisal process so we can move along and close on our house. Im dying to get out of where I'm living and I'm patiently waiting the best that I can.

Dear Husband,

Thank you for all you do and supporting me during this time of me not working. You are so funny and know how to always make me laugh. I don't know where I would be without you.

Dear Roommate, who shall remain nameless but is not related to me or my husband,

Why must you insist on being so rude?!?! I have been nothing but nice to you but you insist on being disrespectful and not to mention you keep stealing my tampons. I understand it shouldn't be a big deal but to me it is. And maybe if you were nicer I wouldn't care. I pray for you all the time that you will get nicer but I dont think its working.

Dear Liz's DISGUSTING chocolate chip cookies (which are in fact not disgusting),

Thank you for being so disgusting because I am now asked to bake them all the time. And I am pretty sure I've made like 10 batches since Liz gave me the recipe.

Dear Banner Health,

Thank you for hiring me yesterday and I am so excited to start working and I cant wait for the next few weeks to pass by. I will be the best employee ever!

Dear Self,

I am so proud of you for enrolling in college and finding a job. You are going to be a busy girl here soon enough and it will be awesome.

Love Always and Forever,

Kaylee

Day nine!

2010-12-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Well this was easy...its of course my momma! With out her I wouldnt be who I am at all. I love her with all of my being and miss being so far away from her more than words can explain. I am so lucky to have a mother who is always there for me no matter what time of day or night. Shes not afraid to put me in my place when she knows I'm wrong. I love how close she and Eric are and its so great that he turns to her as well. I am so much like my mother its crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way! love you mom!!

Day EIGHT!!!

2010-12-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Day 8- A picture that makes you laugh.

Liz and I back in the college days before husbands and in her case babies!

Day 7...

2010-12-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Day 07 - A picture that shows your true self.

Well this one was a little hard for me because I don't think that one picture can show my true self so I added a few!

Happiest being a sister

Being SiLlY!!

Being Smile-y

d.a.y. s.i.x

2010-12-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Day 06 - A picture of somewhere you've been.

Bad pic of me but one of the happiest and most favorite places I've been is DISNEYLAND!!! I have been going for years, so last December when Eric was home on leave we went with my parents and my brother flew out from Minnesota! We had such a great time and I cant wait to go back!

DAY FIVE!! (a day late)

2010-12-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

~~Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.~~

My favorite memory would have to be when we got married but I don't have any pics since I lost my camera in Hawaii. I have a couple from the trip and here in one when we went to a Luau. One day we will have a "real" wedding but we had a fantastic time in Hawaii before Eric deployed!

Day four!!

2010-12-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Day 04 - A picture of your day.

Today was spent watching football (not my idea of fun!), eating home made nachos (so good I forgot to take a pic), watching Eric pack for the Army Reserves and just hanging out! What did you do today?

day three!!!

2010-12-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Gilmore Girls and Friends...enough said

DAY TWO!!!!

2010-12-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Spokane Children's Museum May 2007-ish

Amanda Kosmatin and I have known each other since she was 6 weeks old which was about October of 1989, so that means we have been BFFs for 22 years! Through it all we are still super close and I am so lucky to have her in my life and I CANT wait until she moves here this coming summer!

DaY oNe!!!

2010-12-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with 10 facts.

Oldie, but one of my favorites. Sophomore year in high school

1) I love to eat Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with petite peas

2) I cant wait to have babies, and hope it happens soon.

3) My middle name is Alowayne and I used to hate it but now I appreciate it

4) I sometimes wonder why its so hard for me to stay on track with health and fitness and if ill ever be thin

5) I'm still best friends with girls I went to day care with when I was an infant

6) I have the best husband in the world

7) I have the greatest mom ever

8) I LOVE shoes

9) I always check out tons of books from the library but rarely read all of them

10) I love getting my nails done because if I don't, I'm convinced I have man hands

30 days

2010-12-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

Some friends of mine are doing this so I figured I would too!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with 10 facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your day.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of somewhere you've been.
Day 07 - A picture that shows your true self.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of someone you see yourself marrying in the future.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of your favorite pastime.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone you've been friends with the longest and still feel connected to.
Day 17 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 18 - A picture of your favorite place.
Day 19 - A picture of a habit you wish you didn't have.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of you last year and how you've changed since then
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Its a great day for trashy TV!!!

2010-12-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

So, Eric works nights and that means we get to spend mornings together, for now anyway. Well today we did our normal routine which consisted of:

Curling up on the couch with my grandmas quilt,

Eating delicious cereal out of crappy plastic bowls,

Watching some very LOVELY trashy tv! (We only get like 4 channels, and Maury plays in the morning, Cracks me up every time! Bahaha)

And today we also watched the first disc from season one of glee! Thank you netflix!

SO, whats your favorite time of day!?!?!?

30 Days of thanks in one post!

2010-11-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Instead of posting every day through the month I figured I would wait until the end of the month! That or Ive been reminding myself this whole month to post and I always forget, but either way, here you have it! My 30 days of THANKS!!

My Husband, he's the cheese to my macaroni and I couldn't have asked to marry any one better!

My mom, she is probably my favorite person of all time. I could go on about her for days but wont :)

My other parents: My Dad, Rich (step-dad) and Sherri (step-mom)

My siblings: Chelsea, Breanne, Lexus and my Brother. I love them all so much but am so sad I don't get to see them as much as I would like.

Blogs: I love reading blogs because it makes me realize how many different type of people there are on earth. It also makes me thankful for being able to find ways of how I can improve my life or fun things to do with out much money

The United States: Obviously I love living in the greatest country on earth. Sure, there are many things I don't agree with and would like to change but overall I am so thankful to live here

BABIES!! Yea I said it, I love love LOVE babies. I seriously cant wait to have my own and every time I see one I realize how grateful I am for the gift of birth and babies.

Being Mexican: I am mexican, always have been always will be but up until recently I wasn't immersed much into the culture. Moving to Colorado has helped that a TON and I think its so neat!!!

Mexican FOOD: enough said, but i LOVe pan dulce, fresh tortillas, queso fresco and how its always a family event when people get together to cook great mexican food!

#10

My best friends: Amanda, Sabrina, Liz, I have known some of them my whole life and feel so lucky to still be involved and close to them even though they all live in different states.

#11

GOD: I'm not one who usually goes much into detail about my spiritual beliefs but they are there and sometimes I am more in touch with God than other times and for that I am grateful

#12

DEPLOYMENT: I thought I would never say this but looking back Im glad it happened, and for that I am thankful. Eric and I were brought so much closer because of it and I learned a lot about myself during it.

#13

Having a roof over my head: Sure its not where I want to be, but I am grateful none the less to not have to worry where I will be sleeping.

#14

POSTSECRET.COM: something about this website and the purpose just warms my heart and makes me see what some people have gone through in their life. I haven't sent one in but I probably will some day.

#15

FAMILY TIME: I dont get to see my family much but when I do, its amazing. I think about them all the time and am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have a family like them.

#16

Football: Now I am not really a fan of it, but I love how EXCITED and happy Eric gets when he watches. It makes me laugh most of the time but I think its great. Not to mention, if we are at home, its snuggle time for like 2 or more hours. Who wouldn't want that.

#17

Snuggling: I love to snuggle, I love the way you can feel another persons body against yours and how connected you feel. I especially love snuggling with sleeping babies and kids. They are so innocent and you are reminded not to take life so seriously all the time.

#18

The Military: No matter what branch, Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy I am so grateful and thankful for all of them. ENOUGH SAID!

#19

Military Spouses: Sometimes they dont get the credit they deserve but they have one of the toughest jobs in the military and to them I am thankful.

#20

Flowers, trees, the earth in general

#21

Technology

#22

Homebuying: It is the most stressful thing I have ever gone through and when its over I will be even more thankful.

#23

Random Acts of Kindness

#24

Christmas time: because people seem to be more happy than normal. And they are nicer and cheerful, it should be like this all year round but sometimes its not.

#25

My Health: While Im a little plump, I am otherwise extremely healthy and to that I am thankful.

#26

Mean people: WEird right, not really, it helps me realize who I want to be and I always kill em with kindness.

#27

All of our other friends: who I miss so much, Im thankful

#28

Food: I love food and we are so lucky to live in a place where we can get any kind of food that you want. I am thankful for the nourishment it gives to your body.

#29

Children: for always reminding us how we should see the good things in everything and that life is always happy and joyful.

#30

LOVE: I couldn't forget love, any type of love, I am thankful.

What are YOU thankful for?

Another Blog Give Away!!!!

2010-11-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sadly not my own give away but one can dream (either that or finally do a giveaway of my own)

ANYWAY, my wonderful and lovely friend Suzi is having a giveaway!

You can win on of these babies! (also comes in 3 other colors, that aren't pictured obviously!)

you have 4, thats right 4 ways to win so go over to her blog and enter!!!

GOOD LUCK

FRIENDS!!!

Job Frustrations!!!!

2010-11-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

So I have been meaning to post lately but really just haven't had the desire. Most of the time I'm on the computer searching for nothing else other than a job and let me just say I am ready to pull my hair out. I have never had a problem finding a job, that is until now. I have been in Colorado for a little over two months now and have had no luck finding a job.

I went to a job interview that I was sure was THE job, but was sadly not offered the position. I declined another job interview because of the hope for the first job, HUGE mistake on my part. I learned my lesson there. I was also offered another job interview, but I was called while in the hospital and my message didnt come through until last week, thanks stupid blackberry!

I am on the computer every day looking for jobs where ever I can and I honestly cant see what the hold up is. I have a wonderful resume and would be more than willing to work any where and every where. Needless to say, Im getting fed up and trying my damnedest to keep my head up and keep chugging along!

Christmas cards!

2010-11-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

So I have my CHRISTMAS music blaring,

and now my friends,

it is time to start my CHRISTMAS CARD list!!!

This is one of my favorite things, seriously....

Just saying!!

Aren't you excited?!?!?!

ONLY 37 days until CHRISTMAS!

The last Christmas before Eric deployed! 2008 I think!!

Kidney Stone!

2010-11-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

So Sunday Eric and I were going to buy tickets and got to the Denver Broncos vs Kansas City Chiefs game but we decided to back out at the last minute. Its a good thing we did because about an hour later or so I started getting horrible cramps in my lower right abdomen that were shooting into my lower back.

I thought that maybe I had a pinched nerve and figured it would go away or something. After some walking around and laying down it was getting worse so I told Eric that he needed to take me to the ER and luckily it wasn't far from our house. Once we got there I started throwing up right away and the pain continued to get worse.

The doctors drew my blood, gave me and IV and some morphine to help with the pain until they could figure out what was going on. After a pelvic exam and a CT scan they discovered I had a very large kidney stone... (see below, circled in yellow)

Since I was in so much pain and on so much morphine the doctor decided to admit me so that way my pain could be monitored and hopefully the stone would pass on its own. They told me that if it didn't pass it by the following afternoon, I would have a ureteroscopy.

And what do you know, my body doesn't listen so I had to have the procedure done. I was put out so I don't remember much other than going to the operating room and then waking up in recovery. My doc had to put a stint in that connects my kidney to my bladder to help things pass along and I cant wait to get it out.

After another night in the hospital, I was discharged this morning and am feeling much better with the exception of being a little uncomfortable. Eric was amazing and very helpful to me while I was at the hospital. I am glad its gone and hope to never have to go through it again!

Meatless update!

2010-11-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

So it has been 7 or 8 days since I have eaten meat.

I havent had a single craving so thats been great!

I went to the doctor the other day to learn I have already lost 5 pounds!

GO ME!!!

Must get back to cleaning :D

PS I LOVE my MAC and photo booth!

To meat or not to meat...

2010-11-06T00:53:00.000-06:00

So it has taken me several days to decide to actually post this and at this point I don't even know how this post will end up but I shall give it a shot anyway.

I have always had an issue with food, not in the fact that I don't eat, always in the fact that I love to eat and with that said, I usually always over eat. This has been a never ending battle and I honestly don't know when it began but has seemed to only get worse with stress or any time life changes. Sure, I love healthy food and I know that I should choose it over unhealthy food but it isn't always that easy. I will always find an excuse to eat what I know I shouldn't and its sometimes pathetic.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what I am eating vs. what I should be eating. Considering Eric and I are thinking of having babies soon, food has been on my mind even more because lets face it, I don't want to bring babies into the world that would headed down the path of an unhealthy lifestyle.

The other day I was watching a documentary called FOOD INC, if you have the chance, watch it, its very eye opening. Anyway, I think it came at the perfect time for me. It basically explores where our food comes from starting with the slaughter houses, then goes into grains and corn and ends up talking about healthier alternatives. It made me realize how naive we as Americans really are about what goes into a lot of our food and the process in which most of it is made.

I decided that I was no longer going to eat meat. Well kind of. I am no longer going to eat meat that is processed or comes from a slaughter house or has been altered (meaning the animals were fed hormones to make them bigger.) I will also not be eating any fast food as well as doing my best to stay away from processed foods. Sure, this will probably be really hard for me but sometimes I don't think it will. In the long run I know that this is the healthiest option for me.

I have gone 3 days on my new life change of no meat and in reality it hasn't been hard. I have been forced to make sure that I am eating a lot more fruits and veggies and thinking about how I can make my food that much better with out meat.

So there you have it, it wasn't a really hard debate with myself, and I am honestly proud of myself!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-03T20:10:00.000-06:00

Its Crazy To Think...

2010-11-03T00:42:00.000-06:00

That a little over a year ago, Eric was just getting into his deployment,

And I had just barely turned 21.

And today, we are together, hopefully forever (meaning no more deployments!)!

At the time, I never though the day would come where Eric and I were together again. And now that we are, deployment seems like such a distant memory! I am counting my blessings :D

GIVE AWAY!

2010-11-02T15:29:00.000-06:00

My wonderful friend Suzi See is doing a fantastic giveaway on her blog!! Some hand made earrings! So go CHECK it out and enter to win these babies:

Photo by Suzi

GOOD LUCK GALS!!!

PoRtLaNd!!

2010-11-01T18:09:00.000-06:00

Shortly after Eric came home from the suck fest, he planned a romantic weekend getaway for him and I in Portland Oregon! He is usually horrible at keeping secrets but he did such a good job on this and I had a BLAST! We stayed at the Paramount Olympic Hotel in downtown and it was really nice! I forgot to take a picture of the hotel though!

As I may have mentioned before, Eric LOVES micro brewed beer and is always looking for his next favorite! One of his top brewers is Rogue and they happen to have a restaurant in Portland so we headed there when we got in town.

Here is my sexy husband at Rogue trying to decide what to eat.

Weather you drink or don't drink, Rogue has some of the BEST food I have ever eaten so next time your in town, do yourself a favor and go eat there!

Here he is with a brew!

Before we left for our trip, he told me that I needed to buy something nice to wear so my best friend and younger sister and I went shopping at Macy's and I found the most amazing dress even though I had no clue where we were headed. After lunch at Rogue we headed back to the hotel for a little nap and relaxation then it was time to get ready!

Eric all dressed up and ready to go! He even let me give him a fo-hawk which I think looked so awesome on him!

Here is a picture of my dress, I felt like a million bucks!!

Another pic of me all dressed up!

He took me to see a production of SOUTH PACIFIC and I had such a blast! The musical was amazing and he and I both had a great time. We sadly didnt get a picture of us in front of the signs together but I am so looking forward to going to more shows!

Eric and I after the show!

After the show we headed out to Old Time Pizza, which we had seen on TV a while back. It is an old hotel which is haunted by a prostitute who was killed there years and years ago. It had such a cool vintage feel and Im super bummed I didnt take pictures of the inside. Another place to check out!

AMAZING pizza! The best I have ever had!

After our late night on the town, we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. The following morning we headed out into Portland in search of the world famous VooDoo Doughnuts. We had heard about it from some friends of ours and then saw it on TV.

Eric not happy about the wait in line

After about 45 minutes of waiting (totally worth it) we got to order! They have weird doughnuts but they are amazing! We got a few maple bacon bars, a couple voo doo doughnuts and a few others.

Eric a little happier

After Doughnuts we headed around to a few of the local markets and just enjoyed a relaxing afternoon spending time with each other. I miss portland and hope to go back some day!

Finally...a post or and update rather!

2010-10-31T16:25:00.000-06:00

Well to anyone reading you should be happy to know that Eric and I are both alive and well. So much has happened since my last post that Im going to give a brief update and promise to try and post more often! I have been reading blogs but I need to comment more! So here goes:

Good Bye WASHINGTON, Hello COLORADO?!?!?: Thats right folks, we have moved to a different state and I am so out of my element its crazy! We are staying with Erics brother until we find a place of our own.

We traded the Army for real jobs: Erics last day with the US Army was on October 12th but he took a leave of absence for the month prior. I already miss military life so much but im getting used to civilian life! He now works as a bilingual manager at a warehouse here. But we havent completely left the military, He signed with a Hospital reserve unit out of Aurora CO.

House buying...wait, what?! So we are in the process of buying our own house and crazy as that sounds! We have a cute little one picked out but its a short sale so its taking a little longer than normal. Fingers crossed and prayers please that things move along so we can finally be in our own place again!

As for me, Im trying to find a job but its harder than I thought. Well thats all for now! Like i said, we could use some prayers and fingers and toes being crossed and as I remind myself, WELCOME TO COLORADO!

Battalion Ball

2010-08-24T10:12:00.000-06:00

So shortly (and I mean 3 days later) after Eric returned from the suckfest, as he would say, we had an Army Ball to attend. Talk about a lot of nerves, I didn't even know if he would make it in time which is part of the reason he is in a tux and not his Class A's. (Just a heads up, if you are even in the situation where your husband can choose a tux over Class A's and you want a tux, buy one instead of rent especially if you have to rent a few days before. That was our problem and we got charged up the wazz-ooo since we ordered so close to the event.)

Moving on: We had a fantastic time! It was on a Tuesday so that got me out of work! I found my dress at David's Bridal months before for like $70 bucks! So if you have one coming up, keep your eye out!!

Here is our official ball pic, not my fav but whatever!

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE PICTURE OF US EVER!!!!

Me and my bff Brittany! Who bought her dress from JC Penney after from for like super cheap, 3 sizes too big and then got it altered! She looked fantastic!

MY boy :)

I was very happy with the way this ball went over the other one. It was much more relaxed, maybe because most of them hadn't been home long but I loved it! There was a cocktail hour, some appetizers, then we got to pick where we sat which was amazing because we could sit with our friends. Each company showed a movie of stuff from deployment, talk about depressing! But B-Co's literally pissed everyone off haha! We had dinner, dessert then dancing!

The boys: Fyffe, Eric, Szala and Thompson

The Girls: Ash (married to Szala) Lorena (married to Fyffe), Me and Sam (married to Thompson.)

Eric and I slow dancing :)

Brittany and Jeffrey!

Me, Shelby and Kate

I had a wonderful time and I looked forward to the next BN I get to go to but I was so happy to spend the night with everyone from this unit. I am going to miss them when we move!!

Tobi H. Monje

2010-08-22T10:09:00.000-06:00

So shortly after Eric got home, we decided we should think about adopting a dog or something. I told him it was either that or a baby hahah!! I went to a shelter during my lunch break and fell in love with a pup. He was the most shy and timid dog ever, it looked like he had gotten into a bar fight and lost.

I called and told Eric so he went and looked at him and said NO WAY! But after some convincing we brought him home! He was very scared and only weighed 8 pounds! He's 6 years old, has crippled back legs (since he was abused) and a heart murmur. Something inside me told me I had to adopt him because if I didnt, he would be there for a long time.

So theres our little Tobi H, which stands for happy! And we love him very much! After some adjusting time, he has become much more playful and happy. He has even gained 3 pounds. Coon, our cat, isnt very found of him but he is getting better! Welcome to our family!!!

FINALLY!!!!!

2010-07-22T23:43:00.000-06:00

AFTER 12 1/2 VERY LONG MONTHS, MY SOLDIER IS FINALLY HOME!!!!!

I HAVE SO MUCH TO POST ABOUT BUT WOULD MUCH PERFER SPENDING TIME WITH HIM!

WELCOME HOME BABE!!!!

Prayers please!!!

2010-06-23T08:46:00.000-06:00

This is my friend Kaitlyn who I have known since the 7th grade. Shes fantastic but I really need your help with thoughts and prayer for her and her family. This is her now:

She was involved in an accident yesterday morning and is currently in the ICU. Please pray for her and her family as well as a quick recovery. I love you Kaitlyn, get better soon

A year (almost) in review! PART 2!

2010-06-17T13:47:00.000-06:00

December started out taking forever because I knew that Eric would be home on R&R and some point. I tried to count down the days until I would get to see him again but since the Army cant stick to anything that was really hard. It was December 12th sometime in the evening and my phone was ringing and I went to answer it but I couldn't hear anything. I figured it was Eric trying to call but as usual the phone wasn't connecting. He tried calling several more times but no such luck in being able to connect to each other. Two days later the phone rang again and this time he was there. He frantically told me that he was in Germany on his way to me but he couldn't talk long. His flight would be in on the 15th at 10pm.

Talk about a MAJOR FREAK OUT!!! I screamed inside my house that Eric was on his way and he would be here the next day! I called everyone I knew to tell them that he would be here in LESS than 24 hours. I was on a high and I couldn't believe that I was actually going to see him. The following day my good friends Amanda, Kaila and Kaitlyn came over to help keep my calm and get me looking hot to see my wonderful husband!

I wanted to be at the airport early because I was not going to miss him for anything! I had ordered a welcome home sign on the Internet to have to welcome him with. If you know Eric at all, he is very shy and does not like to create a scene in any way shape or form. We still had over an hour until he was supposed to arrive. So I found my spot in front of the escalator, held my sign and just waited.

My mom, younger sister Lexus and step dad Rich were all there to help me welcome him. I was so surprised by how many people came up to me just to say thank you or offer me a hug. It was such a neat thing to experience and I was so full of emotion the entire time. As time drew closer I started to get more and more anxious. I had to remind myself to breathe and I could barely think because my heart was beating so fast. People slowly started to trickle down the escalator and I was patiently awaiting my solider. People saw me with my sign and told me he was on his way and then I finally saw him:

It was just like the movies, when he finally got down we hugged each other and cried as everyone in the airport clapped and cheered. It is by far one of the best memories of my life and I will never forget it.

Eric really wanted pizza and an ice cold beer so we headed on over to BJs Brew house and all hung out together. It was as if we were never apart and it was so great to see that we clicked so well again. During the two weeks he was home we went all over the place. San Fransisco, a road trip to Disneyland for Christmas, hanging out with my family and friends. It was fantastic! We had such a great time but it passed in the blink of an eye and it was time for him to go back.

For some reason this good bye was easier than the original one. I took him to the airport and was able to stay with him at the gate until he boarded the plane. It took everything in my power not to cry the entire time, but I held it together only for him. We said see ya later and off he went. I silently cried the entire way back through the air port and with each step my heart getting heavier wondering if that would be the last time if I ever got to hold my husband.

I went home and spent the majority of the time in my bed. The past 2 weeks after he left were even heard than the first two when he left the very first time. I found myself being very angry and feeling as though he had abandon me on purpose. Needless to say we didn't always have the best talked. Once again January came and went but I was more depressed than anything. I had started seeing a psychologist and that helped a lot.

During the month of February I rarely heard from Eric. I went 37 days without hearing a single word, talk about heart wrenching. For some reason in March, I woke up with a whole new out look and could finally see the finish line. I was working out and spending plenty of time with my friends and sisters knowing that it would be over before I knew it. I went to Las Vegas with my mom and her sisters and had the time of my life. Eric was jealous but I promised him we would go sooner rather than later.

Before I knew it, April was here and it was time to get my stuff together and pack up to move back to Washington. I was so exited to go home but also super sad to leave my sister Lexus that I had gotten used to spending every day with. I moved into my new apartment found a job and starting working by the end of the month.

May flew by in the blink of and eye and June is half over too. This is the happiest I have been in a long time and I can finally start getting a little excited that Eric should be home in less than 30 days.

There are many emotions that I went through and experienced through this past year. There were times when I felt so close to Eric that I knew nothing could come between us. But there were also times when I felt scared, alone and abandon. I learned what arguments are worth arguing about and which ones are not.

When this whole deployment started, I was angry with everyone and everything for the fact that I was going to have to spend a year away from my husband. Looking back now knowing that it has been over 11 months apart I feel as if this was in God's plan for both Eric and I. I am so grateful that we were able to spend this time apart only to realize how important Eric is to me and how much I do love him with every part of me. I am still going through lots of different emotions about him coming back and us living together again but at the same time I really cant wait!

A year (almost!) in review! PART 1!

2010-06-16T21:46:00.001-06:00

So I have been contemplating weather or not I should do a deployment review or not. I don't figure most people will make it to the end of this post but if you do, thank you and leave a comment! jk! Since I do read other blogs about deployments I found it very interesting that a lot of women have kept a kind of journal about it which I never thought to do. And I am now kicking myself for not doing it. This post if more for me and looking back on it later than for any other reason. So for that I am really sorry if its super boring, depressing and long. I have no idea what is going to flow out of my fingers but I have been thinking about doing this for a couple days now. So here goes:

My husband left for his first deployment on July 13th 2009. The 2 weeks leading up to it were probably some of the toughest weeks of my life. We spent a lot of time packing and re-packing lists of things he was going to need to make it through. It was heart breaking to watch as we would work together as a team to try and get everything together only to notice that his supplies for an entire year could fit in the trunk of a car with room to spare. We were very cautious around each other in the way that we would talk about things to make sure not to bring up anything that might perhaps make us cry.

We spent the nights up to the final day talking about the what- ifs of everything from what we plan to do with our lives when he got home to what happens if he were to die. Now I know what your thinking, we shouldn't have been talking about him possibly dying but we would later learn that it is a big reality than I ever thought possible. We also confided in each other about our deepest secrets but were also there to hold each other when we felt the need to break down. I cried a lot and I am really glad I had Eric there with me.

As much as we wanted our last weeks together to be wonderful and blissful, we also spent to much time over petty arguments that now do not have any relevance. In a way I think it was our own way of some how trying to make leaving each other easier, because lets face it if your mad at someone its much easier to say good bye. So as the day grew closer, it only got worse.

Friday July 10th 2009: The day had finally arrived and it was time to day good bye. We had to be on post by 0600 so I dont even think we went to bed that night because we would have had to leave our house around 0345 to get there on time. We headed to post and I am pretty sure I cried the entire way. My mom was nice enough to drive us there so that I wouldn't have to drive home alone and she wanted to see Eric off as well. Words can not described the mood that loomed over every soldier, their wives and their families. It was as if someone died and there were no words or anything that could have been done to make this any easier. After a lot of moving around base Eric decided it was time to say good bye before the official formation because he didn't want to cry in front of his fellow soldiers.

The last hug was the longest most painful hug and we just stood there and cried together for a good 10 minutes. My arms felt as if they were glued around him and they refused to let go even thought I told them it was time. My mom had to literally peel my body from Eric in order for him to go. I will never forget watching him walk away from me with his hat pulled down over his eyes and ever so often wiping the tears away from his eyes. My mom and I drove away and I cried and cried and felt as though someone ripped out my heart and stepped on it a billion times.

Not 10 minutes later I got a call from Eric asking us to turn around and come back because the Army had some how misplaced a plane and he wasn't sure if they were leaving that day or not. So we drove back and spent the majority of the day on post waiting around to see if he was going to leave or not. After spending most of the day awaiting around, we finally got the OK to go home for the night only to be back the next morning. This whole back and forth thing carried on all through Saturday and then to Sunday. Monday is the day he finally left and by that point I was more than ready to get this deployment started! This good-bye was much easier but still sad. We both had the strength and courage to stay with each other until the buses pulled away without crying to much. At that point I was not only proud of Eric but I was so proud to call myself and Army Wife!

The first 2 weeks of deployment were a big blur. I remember spending a lot of time alone, crying and really feeling sorry for myself. I wanted to crawl under a rock and do anything but face the world. I some how made it through that but there were many times during deployment that I had moments like these. I decided to go to California to spend some time around my family and friends.

This helped keep my mind off of being away from Eric and helped me to enjoy life again. Most of September I don't remember. I remember going line dancing with my girl friends and that was always a fun way to keep my mind off life. I seemed to be pretty lucky in the fact that I got to talk to Eric daily or at least every few days at most. Which made the adjustment period easier. I noticed that my patience for "civilian" people was at like a 0. I was sick of people complaining about being away from their loved one for only a few days. I was some how bitter at the rest of the world that they got to be with their spouse.

This attitude carried onto October and it still comes about now and then. October was a kind of depressing month. Our unit had 3 deaths in one day and thats when the reality of the war set in.I still couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was also my birthday month. Not just any birthday, but my 21st birthday. Eric seemed to be out on a lot of missions and I didn't hear from him much at all. I happened to be in Washington at the time of the memorial ceremonies for the 3 men that died. I decided it was only right to go and pay my respects. It was awful and I decided at that point I would never go to another one with out my husband again.

November seemed to come and go with out any real problems. Sure I had my good days as well as my bad days. By this point I had reached the 4-5 month mark and I was glad that time seemed to be on my side. When I stopped to think about things, life seemed to take forever but if I just went with it, it seemed to go much faster.

*** I DECIDED TO BREAK THIS UP!***

I want to strangle someone!!!!!!!

2010-06-12T09:54:00.001-06:00

This is going to be a little rant but I had to get it off my chest! If your in the military or have a spouse or family member in you probably know exactly what I am about to say. Can any one explain to me WHY they go back and forth and back and forth on everything they do! Its getting really annoying and I would really like a little bit more general idea when to expect him home but no that would be all to easy!!! GRRRR!

Ok, theres my rant I'm done and I am back to going with the flow :)

On another note, it is amazing outside so I must get ready for my day and enjoy some of this sunshine! Have a fantastic weekend everyone!!

I had to share :D

2010-06-07T23:20:00.000-06:00

So it has been a little while since I have seen my husband on a web cam let alone a picture. Today he informed me that he uploaded a new one to facebook and I just had to share with the blogging world! So here is is, my amazing husband with some local Afghan children. He also said he had a video but it wouldn't upload...boo for that! Cross your fingers it does and I promise to share! He makes me so proud to be married to a soldier! I cant wait to be in your arms again E!!!

Who would have thought?!?!?

2010-06-05T23:48:00.000-06:00

My husband has been gone for

327 DAYS

-or-

7807 HOURS

-or-

472250 MINUTES

-or-

28335239 SECONDS

Who would have thought I could make it this far?!? Not me and it also means not much longer now!!! I cant wait, its going to be AMAZING!!!

I cant wait to see this face again :) (dont mind the quality, its from skype!)

He is really the best!!

2010-06-02T23:59:00.001-06:00

So as I mentioned before, I came back from California last month. Well two days after I left my step mom called to tell me there was a package from Eric and she said she would send it to me and I finally got it yesterday!!

So first I saw this box inside a bigger box with other mail and I couldn't wait to open it!

The pink and black polka dots caught my eyes right away!!

This little box was inside with a note that said " I will always love you!"

I opened it and found this AMAZING necklace!!! i even squealed!!!

It is so beautiful and I just love it!

Here is a closer picture so you can see the pearl!

And here is a picture of me wearing my new necklace. Don't mind the fact that I have no make up on, I just got back from the gym! Also notice my smaller arms and shoulder definition! yay for the gym!!

This necklace is from Lisa Leonard Online and her website is http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/

Last year I was reading the busy bee lauren blog found here: http://busybeelauren.blogspot.com/

Last year she had a give away from Lisa Leonard. I feel in love right away and casually mentioned it to Eric around Christmas time. I thought he probably forgot just like most men would so I was so thrilled when I opened the box and thats what it was!

I seriously have the most amazing husband EVER and can't believe almost 11 months has passed by with out him! I love you eric and thank you!!!

I figured it was time

2010-05-30T11:04:00.000-06:00

Since I attempted to post a blog, but that didn't really happen, I'm going to give you the quick update as to why I have been MIA! Sorry no pictures (huge bummer!!!) but I will try to keep it really short!

First I made it back to Washington (WOO HOO) in April and it has been fantastic! After some awesome help from my parents, my new apartment is up and ready to go, the only thing Im missing is Eric!

My mom stayed for a week or so to help me out and after she left I was on the hunt for a job! After some great searching I got an interview at a Chiropractors Office. I didn't think it went that great, but on the same day I was called back for a second interview and then offered the job! My job is a little slow but I like it. While my boss is a little odd sometimes he's a nice guy so its been going well!

In addition to working, I made a new friend, Brittany (who I will post about later), and she is my new work out buddy! We work out 6 days a week and she kicks my booty! I lost 4 pounds my 1st week back and stayed the same last week. More stuff on working out later.

Lets see, so between work and working out, I don't really have a ton of free time. I usually go to work, to the gym then home! Where I eat, take a shower and go to bed. If I'm lucky Ill talk to Eric. Speaking of Eric, he is doing really well just super ready to come home. Not much longer now, I cant wait!

So there you go, my very fast, very boring, picture-less update! I will find time to post more pictures soon! And while I have been awful at posting comments, I promise I am still reading all of your blogs!!

It about time!

2010-05-21T20:27:00.001-06:00

one word...B-U-S-Y!!!

2010-04-12T23:55:00.000-06:00

I have fallen off the face of the earth once again! So much to blog about, so little time! This is what I've been doing the past few weeks!

San Fransisco

Las Vegas

San Fransisco

Dinner with friends and family

Soft ball

Packing for my drive back to Washington

Dinner with my dad!

And tomorrow I have a million and one errands to run, dinner with my mom and grandparents, a night of sleep then off to Washington Wednesday morning! Wish me luck and pray for a safe drive! I have so much to do, i feel like im running out of time so I may continue to be gone for a while!

Just in case I forget!

2010-03-18T23:08:00.000-06:00

I was talking to Eric today on the phone and we got on the topic of food which we all know I love to talk about! And I asked him what he wanted to eat for his first meal when he gets back! Since his first meal good be in 12 weeks or even 17 I had to blog just so I don't forget. Here's what he wants:

A large salad with out cucumbers or dressing (he hates dressing!)

A nice big steak, I forgot to ask him how he wants it cooked though, so I need to figure that out!

HOMEMADE mashed potatoes and gravy. "Not that fake stuff your mom swears is real" That's a direct quote!

Green bean casserole with extra onion crunchies :)

Beer from the Harmon Brewery in Tacoma

And German Chocolate Cake. (this is what he picked because he was forced to, hes not a dessert person!)

So if you have a great way to cook steak or how to make amazing German chocolate cake, send it my way PRETTY PLEASE!!

He's BBBAAACCCKKK!!!!

2010-03-06T11:50:00.001-07:00

So after 27 long days on a mission in Afghanistan, I got a wonderful call this morning from my husband saying he's back to his FOB saying he's safe and sound!! A lot of things happened and they saw tons of action! If you watch or read the news, many of the stories recently are about Eric's unit! He is glad to be back to showers, real food, a bed, computers and a TON of mail! He didn't take a shower the whole time he was gone which is DISGUSTING!! Here are a few pictures, notice how thin he is and enjoy! Also cross your fingers he doesn't have to go out any time soon!! Love ya E

Holding a coffee pot! It doesn't look like he can plug it in anywhere lol

Graber (who was nice enough to let Eric use his phone while he was out so I could hear from him) and Eric trying to look very fierce and tough!

By far my FAVORITE! He looks SUPER sexy!!

John and Eric trying to be "cheesy!"

A picture of where they lived for 27 days!

My Weekend...

2010-02-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best weekends I have had in a long time! Here's a recap of what I did!

Friday Night was Girls Night Out in downtown Placerville (where my mom lives!) So she and I walked around looked at stores as well as a few art galleries.

But first we had dinner at this place called Z Pie. It was AMAZING!! They serve all different pot pies as well as salads and appetizers. I had a chicken and mushroom pie which was to die for. We also had a few glasses of wine and dessert!

Saturday my mom and I spent the day together also! We started out with lunch at Jacks Urban Eats. Another one of my favorite places to eat in this town. I had a huge taco salad and these:

They are called URBAN FRIES and they are to die for!! French fries, with bleu cheese, a spicy chili oil, red pepper flakes and parsley! To die for :)

Next we headed to ROSS to look for dresses since we are having a girls trip at the end of March. I am going with my mom her 3 sisters and my grandma to Las Vegas!!

I found a dress that doesn't look anything like this one other than its black and white. Ill try to take a picture of it but you get the idea and (DRUM ROLL PLEASE) it was only $18.99!!

Then we headed over to Pier One where I bought these:

Place mats! They match my red and yellow dishes and are amazing!! Also a bargain price of $2.98 each, which is really good for something bought at Pier One.

Next we went to Babies R Us! Since my best friend Sabrina is pregnant, my eyes are always open looking for stuff! Not to mention I have a million friends who are pregnant so I am always looking for baby gifts on sale. I am going to make a whole post of everything I would want to buy there!

On Sunday we went to a few wineries to do some Wine Tasting! It was so much fun and I had the chance to try tons of different wines. We went to the Boeger Winery, which is pictured above. And another cool building is posted below!

If I had a ton of money I would have bought a ton of wine! Instead I bought a few bottles for my sister in law Rhonda (and Rhonda if your reading this, happy birthday, this is your gift!) As well as a few for me. I still haven't heard from my husband in far to long but I am glad time is passing! Thanks to my parents for a great weekend!

The Truth About The Gym

2010-02-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I have been working out. Not only have I been working out but I have a personal trainer named Johnny! He is by far amazing and you wouldn't think someone that good looking could be so mean, and he is! We work out together 2 times a week and then I go several other times by myself. I would like to share with you what I notice while working out.

1) Lots and LOTS of BUFF men feel the need to shave their legs, weird I know

2) Theres a few skank-a-licious girls who go there just to pick up guys, annoying!!

3) A lot of girls in the high school range like to talk on their cell phones while "working out"

4) It is possible to play poker on your i phone while on the elliptical, and even winning some money

5) Men over the age of 55 do in fact have MP3 players even if "they are cheap pieces of crap" and they talk about investing their money into an I pod

6) There is a girl who can do like 30 pull ups without stopping, shes amazing and I secretly watch her work out!

7) It is quite common for the average guy who lifts weights to actually wink at himself in the mirror while lifting, makes me laugh out loud every single time

8) And many people over weight and thin like to make very strange noises while doing cardio!

There you have it, the truth about my gym, what funny things do you notice while you work out?

Letters

2010-02-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I haven't been lucky enough to hear from Eric at all lately. I have heard from him for 59 seconds exactly in the last 16 or so days. So with that being said, I have gotten back into the groove of writing him letters. I usually sit down at night and go over my day and my thoughts and feelings. I am not sure if he will ever read them all but in a way it makes me feel close to him and like I am actually able to talk to him. I know that I really love getting hand written letters from him (not that they come often) and I am sure he likes to get them too. There is something so romantic and heartfelt about a hand written letter and it means so much more than an email, Facebook post or Myspace message. Not to mention you can color on your paper or leave it plain and simple. So perhaps you should send a hand written letter to someone you love...

missing him...

2010-02-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

So people have told me that I need to update my blog so here I am updating. I am not sure how this is going to go or what I have to say. Lately I have been feeling like just a person who takes up space in the world. Most days I have no emotions nor do I have any life experiences. I miss my husband and at this point I am hoping he and I both make it out alive. On the bright side we only have 20 weeks to go but at the same time it seems so far away.

I have been missing everything about him and I and us being together. I am learning a ton about not taking anything for granted when he does come back home. I had a list of things I miss most about him so I am going to share a few simply for my own well being.

I miss watching him play video games,

Going on hikes and complaining the entire time hoping he would say we could turn around (but he never did),

Waking up in the morning to get him ready for work (make coffee, pack lunch, start car),

Him laying with me for 5 more minutes until he had to leave for work,

Just talking about anything and everything for hours on end or until one of us feel asleep first,

His humor which is very dry and always finds its way into every situation and conversation which in the end makes everything better,

Listening to him sing in the shower, car, kitchen all the time in both English and Spanish

Just the way he loves me for me no matter what.

I could go on and on about everything I miss. I miss my best friend and I want so badly for him to be back and for us to be happy together. I feel bad that I have been avoiding my friends and family and its not their fault, I just seem to be missing Eric in every situation and it makes like suck that much more. So sorry to said friends and family.

I don't know if you have watched the news lately, I know I sure haven't, but if you do, you know whats going on in Afghanistan. I would love to say that Eric isn't a part of it but he is which in turn affects me. I used to hear from him daily or every couple days at least but as of now, I have heard from him for 59 seconds in the past 10 days. Its killing me and I keep remembering that no news is good news but sometimes its easier said than done. Well thanks for letting me vent about this and cross your fingers I hear from him soon or that I cant sleep for the next 5 months

Dear John

2010-01-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

When I saw the first trailer for the movie, you can imagine it struck a few strings with my heart. I cried during the preview and I have cried during every preview that I have seen since then. I am very excited it finally comes out next week because the anticipation is killing me! So I decided I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie and that's what I spent this afternoon doing. I read the whole book cover to cover in about 6 hours with a few breaks here and there. Now I don't want to be the one to tell you what happens so I'm going to very briefly talk about it, I wont give any details other than this blog so don't ask what happens!! To me it hit very close to home because Eric is in the Army and gone as we speak. I loved the book over all but I cant decide how I feel about the ending! After you all see the movie or read the book we can talk! But I should have you know I cried a few times while reading it and I'm not afraid to admit that. Needless to say, I am even more ready to see the movie! That's all I'm going to say :)

Help me pick my new sweatshirt!

2010-01-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

So I have really been wanting an Army Wife sweatshirt but cant for the life of me decide which one I want. So please vote, that way I can make a choice! Thanks!

Weigh in 1/26/10!

2010-01-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was weigh in day at Weight Watchers, now I didn't do as well with tracking and exercising last week like I should have to meet the goal I had of loosing 2.6 pounds! But we all have our off weeks and its time to just get back on the horse and keep going! I will say that I was down:

-1.6 pounds!!!

Which is still great in itself. I decided to join a gym yesterday so I went to 24 hour fitness and got myself signed right up. I would love to say that after I got all signed up, I ran home, put my gym clothes on and went back to work out but I didn't. I was supposed to go in there this morning at 11 to meet with a trainer but woke up with lovely green flem, a sore throat and a cough that sounds more like a baby seal than anything else. I didn't want to risk getting anyone sick and I didn't go. Maybe I should have who knows! I'm going to try to go tonight but I cant promise it will be done. The truth is, I am extremely nervous to go to the gym. Well heres to another great week. I am .4 pounds away from 10 pounds and 1.4 away from my 5% which is 11 pounds! See you next week!

HaPpY 21sT bIrThDaY LiZ!!!

2010-01-25T01:27:00.001-07:00

Happy 21st birthday lizzy!! So as a birthday gift, this blog is for you! We have known each other for what seems like forever but its actually been 7 almost 8 years! We met our freshman year in high school and had so much fun then and in college. We have been with each other during the best and worst moments in life! You are truly one of my best friends and I am so grateful for everything I have learned from you! You are a great example of what a wife and mother should be! I love you so much!

Here our some of my favorite memories in no order:

Eating cereal for breakfast lunch and dinner

Going to every football game and freezing our butts off

Cuddle time in your bed under the warm covers when it was to cold to get out

Roller Skating

Voo Doo dances in the kitchen

Sunday dinners with your family

Rodeos

Wearing spandex and sweats pretty much every where we went

Playing board games

Talking all night long

Crying over boys

Spokane Shock!!

Volleyball and mean girls!

Movies

Heart Attacking

Riding Cooper

Driving around with music blasting

Gooeys

Pasta, chorizo and home made pizza

Favorite snacks after a bad day

"So are you guys from Idaho?!"

Silly boys

I could go on and on and on!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZ!!!

Weight!

2010-01-21T23:24:00.001-07:00

It seems that these days, women and their weight is still such a taboo topic. I have decided that it may be best for me to be successful in my weight loss journey to share it with all of you. I have been over weight from my early teen years all the way to now. This is the heaviest I have been in my life and am ready to make a life change, not only for myself but for the benefit of my husband and our future children. So here goes :)

My starting weight was:

when I joined Weight Watchers a few months ago. In about 6 weeks I managed to loose:

Sure, that's great but I didn't fully commit to tracking everything that went into my mouth and actual working out. So while my husband was home, I ate what I wanted because lets face it, I hadn't seen him in 6 months so we ate all of our favorite foods and drank together. I managed to gain:

in a matter of a month. Something finally hit me when he left and I decided this is something I need to do for myself and focus 100% of my time and energy into loosing weight. I don't want to be stick thin, I just want to live a healthy and active life. So after tracking everything that went into my mouth and exercising 4 times I managed to loose:

in my first week back at Weight Watchers!! This was such a huge boost for me and I realized I made it through that week without dying from my lack of fatty, greasy, nasty food and so I decided to try to do my best for another week. While I made a few mistakes and didn't track as well, I was still mentally conscious of went into my mouth. It paid off because I lost:

In my second week after Eric left. That is a:

So I am learning that hard work really does pay off. I plan to be open and honest with the blogging world when it comes to my weight loss. I weigh in every Tuesday and plan to give a full report about my week. I am very excited and am more focused on this than I ever thought possible. I can already notice a change in my face weight and body. My dear sweet husband also mentioned how I look like I lost some weight when he saw my on Skype the other day. I know this isn't going to be easy, but at this point I am willing to try my hardest to get as healthy as I can. Sure I don't like working out, but I am noticing how much better I feel the next day or even how proud I am after! So wish me luck and thanks for following me in this journey :)

R&R Part TWO: San Fran

2010-01-21T00:14:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to grow up in California and one of my favorite places of all time is San Fransisco! I love the food, the culture, the architecture and the fact that its one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I have been going there as long I can remember and I was so excited to take Eric there for the day. We didn't get to see everything because lets face it, theres so much to do! We had such a good time and I wish we could have stayed longer! I kept my post to only 15 pictures, so you wont get bored! Enjoy :)

Here is Eric in front of the bathroom that cleans itself after each use. While it cleans, it still smells funny!

We started the day off right with food from my favorite street vendor La Isabela which is on Fisherman's Wharf. We had clam chowder, curly fries and some fried shrimp. It was DELISH!!!

Next we went to a place that has tons of old arcade games. They uses to be at the Cliff House which is in the movie Princess Dairies. But they moved them all to San Fran. Eric decided to challenge this man to arm wrestling but he lost :(

I WON!! Mind you it was with 2 hands on the easiest level, but a win is a win in my book!

After that, we went on a tour of this old Navy ship that was used in World War 2. I have always wanted to go on a ship. It was fun except for getting a little sea sick!

I thought this was the best picture of the entire trip. The way the flag is just makes me so proud!!

This was our (or my) attempt at taking a picture of us on the boat. It only took 4 tries lol!

Then we headed down the street and had a few beers before we walked to the trolley!

Heres us, pad picture of me but how cute is my husband!! Remember me here though because that is my FAT picture (more on that later)

Here is Eric on the trolley which he had never been on in his life so I told him he must stand up for the ride, and we did. I think he had a lot of fun!

We rode the trolley and got off in China Town. I have been to San Fransisco a million times but have never stepped foot in China Town. I wish I would have sooner, it was awesome. Any one who knows Eric, knows he has seriously love for Anime, particularly Naruto. Don't judge people!! We went into a small anime shop and he was in heaven!

We ate the best Chinese food I have had in my life. As you can tell from the picture above, we enjoyed it! We sat on a roof top alone, enjoy hot tea and just people watched.

This little market was so cool and had tons of neat stuff. I wish I could have shopped more but lets face it, Eric hates shopping lol!

We rode the trolley back down to the Wharf and went to the Ripley's Believe it or not museum. It was very interesting to say the least!!

We ended our night down on Pier 39 with a nice dinner over looking the water! We had such a great time and it was so nice to re-connect our love for one another! I truly cant wait for us to go back there and explore some more :)

R&R Part ONE!!!

2010-01-17T01:12:00.000-07:00

So this post is one of many! Eric came home for R&R on December 14, almost a month ago. It has taken me forever to post because I couldn't get my pictures to load until now!! There is going to be several posts, and you will probably get bored but oh well!! I will go in order, and this is just for blogging purposes so maybe one day my kids can look back on our life!!

This is how it went, I got a phone call from Eric telling me he was in Germany and that he would be here at 10pm the following day! Talk about a freak out and a half, I was running around my house screaming like a big baby but I was so excited! On Monday, Kaitlyn, Amanda and Kaila came over to help me get ready because I was so nervous to do it myself! A huge thanks to Kaitlyn for taking pictures for me! And another huge thanks to Sherri for letting Eric and I take over her room while he was here.

This is me with my signed that I had ordered off line. Thanks to www.buildasign.com for giving it to me for free! It turned out to great, and embarrassed the heck out of Eric :)

I love this picture of me. I feel so beautiful. My Mom, Lexus and Rich were at the airport with me, waiting for Eric.

I was at the airport an hour early, and it was by far the longest hour of my life. I was very nervous and extremely on edge. A few women came up and talked to me about their sons who had just gotten home from Iraq. They cried and I cried too!

Since it was late at night, Eric's flight was the only one coming out of the gate. When people started coming down the elevator, I really freaked out. Several people would stop and tell me that he sat behind them, or that he wasn't far behind. Finally after pacing back and forth I heard a man yell "I SEE A SOLDIER," then I saw this:

And this is what I did,

Eric doesn't like to make a scene in public so this was totally out of his element! When I saw him I freaked out, started crying, and ran into his arms. Just then, everyone in the airport started clapping and cheering for him. It was just like in the movies :) You can see Eric's emotion in this pic.

Just another great picture that I love!

After we found Eric's one and very dirty bag, we headed to BJ's Brewhouse for some pizza and beer! There were some guys at the bar that were nice enough to buy Eric his first beer of the night!

We had some great food, delicious beer and time to spend with Kaitlyn, Lexus, my mom and Rich.

This is in the parking lot, its amazing how it felt as if he never left.

This just truly shows how happy and safe I felt that he was back :)

Waiting for Eric and seeing him was like nothing I will ever experience in my whole life. I truly felt like the luckiest and most blessed woman on earth. I love this man more than anything and it was so nice to have him safe in my arms once again!

sleepless nights...

2010-01-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

I'm laying in bed wide awake, nothing new there, I just can't find the energy to sleep when its actually time. I found myself thinking the most at night and sometimes I wish it wasn't that way. I stay awake for hours just thinking, hoping and dreaming. Eric has been gone for over 6 months so I am glad to say this deployment is finally half over. Most of my nightly thoughts are about Eric and I and us. I can't wait for him to come back so we can finally be together again. I dream of going to Red Lobster (and FYI I don't even like that place) and eating food and just being us. I can't wait to live together again, to make dinner and breakfast, to watch him play video games and act like I'm bored but secretly stare and watch his every expression. I am so greatful to have a husband as amazing as mine but he keeps me up at night without even knowing it. Ill be so glad when this is all over so we can be together again to make up for lost time. I love you Eric and I miss you so much!!

BLOG GIVE AWAY!!

2010-01-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

So this lovely lady that I have never met, nor do I even know, is having a wonderful blog giveaway! So please, go check her out, sign up, and perhaps you just might win!

busybeelauren.blogspot.com

Good Bye 2009, Hello 2010!!

2010-01-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

Since Eric left on Wednesday, I was just kind of in all around blah mood New Years Eve. I was supposed to hang out with friends but that didn't happen because I felt like being alone. I drove up to my moms house and have been there since! Eric was staying at a hotel in Texas so we got to talk when both Texas and California had their New Years! I was glad about that! Now I don't usually set resolutions because I always seem to break them so instead I'm making a list of things I will try to do! Here goes:

1) Drink more water

2) Not eat fast food (and if I have to, make better choices)

3) Keep going to Weight Watchers

4) Read more, watch TV less

5) Be a better wife

6) Exercise

7) Keep my room clean

8) Make better food choices

9) Journal

10) Don't interrupt Eric when he's talking

11) Listen better

12) Decide what I want to do with my life

13) Be a better friend

14) Pick up a few hobbies

15) Save money

R and R

2009-12-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-12-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

He's really here!!!!

I am not dead...just kind of!

2009-12-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-11-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-11-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-11-11T16:32:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-11-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Davis and Catlin Swift...

2009-11-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-11-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!!

2009-10-29T11:21:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-10-28T17:10:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-10-21T14:23:00.001-06:00

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...

2009-10-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

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...

2009-10-18T19:36:00.000-06:00

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

2009-10-01T13:59:00.000-06:00

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...

2009-09-28T13:48:00.000-06:00

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...

2009-09-22T20:42:00.000-06:00

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!!

BLINK 182...Oh how I love you

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-06:00

Better late than never I guess! So this past Saturday I went with my great friend Kaitlyn to see Blink 182. A little back ground info on my love for them. I first fell in love in 1999 when their single "All The Small Things" was released. I have been OBSESSED ever since! My Best Friend Sabrina and I have spent pointless hours learning every single song and seeing them several times while they were on tour in my younger days. Well they broke my heart when the band went there separate ways in 2005. I always longed for the day they would get back together and eventually my wish came true. This past February they announced they were getting back together and going on tour. your could say I was beyond STOKED!!!

I would pretty much say I am a true fan and know almost all the music from every album they have released which is 6 including one of a recorded show they did. So Kaitlyn was nice enough to buy tickets for us when they went on sale. Along with Blink, Taking Back Sunday and Weezer played. I didn't know much about Taking Back Sunday but they were good. I was so excited to see Weezer also and they were amazing to say the least. So here's some pictures, enjoy! And Eric, I wish you could have been there, you really would have had a lot of fun!!

Here is my mirror pic with my new Barbie shirt and my sunglasses...don't judge me!!

Me with our tickets to the show!

Me and Kaitlyn in the car, sitting in traffic, decided to take a few pictures

We got to the venue about an hour and a half early and there was a line all the way to the road which is where I was at!

Us in our seats.

We had lawn seats at first but Kaitlyn offered to pay for us to get better seats. When we first bought the tickets, I didn't want to spend the almost $80 to get floor seats so we settled for lawn. Well on the day of the show, they were selling tickets for only $10 to have real seats and Kaitlyn jumped right on that!

I just like this pictures, and my new bow of course bought to wear to the show :)

First band up was Taking Back Sunday. They played well and I enjoyed their music

Me waiting in between sets...

Yay for WEEZER!! I have been a fan for a very very long time and I'm so glad I got to see them play. They were AMAZING!!

Another pic of the band playing

This was all the cell phones (they don't use lighters these days) during one of their slower songs

These were our staged excited faces waiting for Blink to come on

Mark Hoppus: Hes always been my crush and maybe one day Ill meet him. He looks exactly the same as the last time I saw him.

Tom DeLong: He was always Sabrina's favorite

Travis Barker...GREAT DRUMMER!!!

A pic of them playing!!

This might be a little long but if you look closely or click on the pic to make it bigger, that is actually Travis playing drums at an angle. When they started their encore, Travis was playing the drums, then suddenly the platform he was on slowly started moving out towards the crowd and lifting at the same time. He probably went about a good 15 to 20 feet up and the platform flipped him to the side and he was playing at an angle where his body was parallel to the ground while spinning in a circle. I don't even know if that was a good mental picture or not but it was so great I was speechless!!

These were our sad faces after the show was over.

I must say how happy I was being there. It brought back so many great memories from when I was much younger and didn't have a care in the world. All of the songs they played brought out some sort of memory and it was fantastic. I wish Eric could have been there to share it with me. But it was the happiest Ive been since hes been gone. I now want all of their Cd's and plan to listen to them over and over again!!

Here's my souvenirs from the show

This shirt is for Eric! Hope you like it babe!!!

I was sad when the show was over but I'm so glad they are back together and working on another album. Hopefully they will go on tour again so I can watch them play. They will forever be my favorite band of all time, regardless of how cheesy that sounds.

I LOVE BLINK 182!!!

A great give away!!

2009-09-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

So Im learning in this world of blogging that people do give aways and I love the idea! One of my other blogging friends is having a give away and its great!! Follow the link and there are 3 ways to get your name entered. Good luck :)

http://amazinamie.blogspot.com/

Someone stole your what?!?! AND a mini Eric update

2009-09-09T18:13:00.000-06:00

Eric will probably kill me for posting this story but I just couldn't help myself! So Eric called me on Monday while we were driving back from Orange County. We were talking about care packages and this is how the conversation went:

ME: "So has anyone asked you for anything I sent you?"

Eric: "No"

(paused for a couple seconds)

"But someone stole my Twinkies"

ME: "What?"

Eric: "Yea, someone stole my Twinkies"

ME: "But you don't even like Twinkies and I didn't send you any."

Eric: "I know but Joel sent me some. And the other day I was sitting on my cot, pulled out my box of Twinkies, opened one and took a bite. Then I got up, came back and they were GONE!!!"

ME: "Seriously?!?"

Eric:"Yup, even the half eaten one..."

ME: quietly laughing, not sure what to say

So there you have it! There is a Twinkie bandit in Eric's tent :) I love you boo and couldn't help but share this story! I had a good laugh and continue to tell everyone who will listen to it. I also included some new pictures Eric emailed me

Some of the village families

Eric with an interpreter not paying attention

Eric with a copy of the newspaper from his home town of Chetopa, Kansas, Population 500. They will be posting this in the newspaper soon :)

Eric sharing his paper with an Afghan Soldier

That's pretty much all that's going on besides my non-stop reading! I love and miss you Eric

Orange County!

2009-09-07T17:26:00.000-06:00

***WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST AHEAD! FULL OF PICTURES AND WORDS! IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE READING AND OR LOOKING AT A LONG POST, COME BACK LATER! :) ***

So this past weekend, I along with my sisters Chelsea, Breanne, Lexus and my step-mom Sherri, headed to Orange County for a short visit with her family. I haven't been there in years but it was such a blast! It went by all to fast and I wish I could have spent more time by the beach. I'm looking forward to when Eric comes home for R&R because we are going back to So Cal for 2 weeks!

I will try to post everything that when on but don be surprised if I forget a lot of stuff lol! And honestly you wont know any different because you weren't there. Unless you are of course one of my lovely sisters :) So we left Friday night after Breanne got off work, which wasn't until 9pm. Sherri drove the first leg and I took over from 11:30 on and got us there safely at 4am Saturday morning. After a few short hours, 4 to be exact, of sleep, we were off to the beach!! It was such an amazing day. Not to hot, not to cold, not to many people.

This is me laying on the beach after a swim. I attempted (and we should use that term lightly) to surf. I took the board out to the water but the tide was already going out so not much trying!

This is my cousin Taryn. Shes 12 and so cute! Look at that hair :)

Lexus with Taryn's surf board. They were in the water all day playing around on them

My sister Breanne and Cousin Karissa taking a break to show off their muscles :)

These little boys next to us came over to show us the mini crabs they were catching! Super cute

This was me, Karissa, Chelsea and Breanne pausing for a quick pic during our game of "NEVER HAVE I EVER..." It has been years since I have played that game, and I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time! It was a blast

Chelsea took this picture of the beautiful palm trees at the beach!

So along with volleyball courts, picnic tables, a park and much more, you can rent pedal bikes. This one seats 6 and there's one that seats 2. A huge thanks to Eric for being deployed, because when I went to pay with the military ID the girl gave me a free hour with the bike since he's fighting for our freedom! Thanks hunny, love you!

This is Lexus after a long day at the beach and lack of sunscreen. It has since turned into a nice tan.

While we were at the beach, we learned how to keep your phones dirt and sand free! Thanks Aunt Kim for the tip and plastic bags.

Breanne using our new plastic bag as a phone protector!

There were also jets in the sky advertising for an air show. I thought it was so cool!!

My legs and feet in the sad! It felt sooo good :)

Lexus and Taryn fresh out of the water

The only boy cousin out of 7, Noah rocking his surf board. This kid is amazing!

Cant go to the beach and not get a picture of the life guard stand with the lifeguard.

I'm not sure, but I just love love love this picture of Breanne :)

Me and Chelsea, sitting under an umbrella getting our tans on.

We also had lunch and an evening BBQ that day. Hamburgers, hot dogs and some great Asian salad that our friend Sandy made. It was so nice to sit with my sisters, and get some much needed girl time. I love you all and I miss you when I'm not here :) By the end of the day, I was beyond tired to say the least! After a nice shower I was already falling asleep by 7:30pm. I was so tired, that Eric called and I don't even remember a thing! Sorry babe!

So on Sunday, we took family pictures. Before we did that, Breanne, Karissa, Taryn, Lexus and I went to the mall. The one thing I noticed about Orange County was there was not an ugly person in sight! The people of the OC are so pretty and in shape! Here are a few pics from the mall.

Me, Breanne and Karissa, found some really cute masks and snapped a few pictures before we got yelled at! We didn't but just in case!

I found this headband at FOREVER 21 and it was huge! Looking at it i thought it was way to big for anyone to actually wear, but looking back now, I am in love with it and I would wear in proudly if i ever bought it! Don't hate

Karissa, Me and B with headbands. I also tried on the red one that Karissa is wearing and I liked that one too!

So as cheesy as this is, I had to take a picture of SAKS FIFTH AVENUE. I have always heard and seen this store on TV but I have never, ever been or seen one in real life. I just couldnt help myself and took a picture. Your probably wondering if I actually went inside, but that answer is NO!

After a few hours at the mall, we headed home to get ready for family pictures. Its usually rare for all of us to be together. Us other girls have jobs, school and live in different states (talking about myself), so when we are together we make sure to take pictures!

Here is a silly picture of all of us together.

A much more formal picture of the whole family

This is my individual one.

My sister Breanne

Chelsea

Little Lucy!

After pictures, we had a really nice dinner. Then we went to the park for a one on one soccer game between Breanne and Noah. Breanne schooled Noah 3 to 1 if i remember correctly. When we got back, we played a really fun game of SPOONS! Pretty much drama free :)

All of the spoon lined up.

Noah getting ready to deal out the cards

Me being really bored!

That pretty much sums up our short but very fun weekend. We drove back this morning and Im still so tired! I have a feeling Im going to sleep good tonight. A huge shout out to the Pennington's for letting us stay at your house. I had so much fun and hope to see you all sooner rather than later!!

On another note, my blogs worst dressed pictures from the Grad were talked about a lot! So all weekend long, the girls were trying to find people to take picturs of for me to post. So here are the winners from this weekend and actually just from the beach.

This man was in his boxers and a t-shirt while on the beach. It doesnt look so bad here but thoes shorts were super shorts and really underwear not shorts lol

These two women were walking along the beach and they are self explanatory!

And this woman was by far the worst dressed person the whole time I was there. This was a very shiney, sparkly and spandex top and bottom. We just couldnt helop ourselves!

Hope you enjoyed the blog, post a comment and have a great week :)