Celebration!

  

Today was an excellent day! I'm really glad it was too. I was needing a lazy day of awesome and that is what I got. I don't work on Tuesdays, so I usually make plans to do a bunch of crap I've been meaning to take care of. Usually I do it. Not today. Typically, that wouldn't be a happy thing for me. I like to be productive and I like to make accomplishments. There are only a few feelings I like more than crossing something off of my to-do list. 

This morning I took care of some Army business then I came home to my ridiculously messy room and turned on some Gossip girl. It's not my favorite show ever, but I'm totally in love with the Chuck Bass/Blair Waldorf dynamic so I keep watching it...That means that my room didn't get cleaned (I did do laundry though! I can stop looking like hobo at work and I can quit wearing my sister's clothes!) 

Also, my birthday present from my sister finally came. My birthday was May 14th...so it's pretty late. But it was totally worth the wait! Check out my brand-spanking-new Gem Wallet.

I have been waiting for this thing forever and I'm so excited. I carried it around everywhere I went today even though I barely left my house...

After I discovered my wallet and did some more procrastination and Gossip Girl watching (totally absurd what's going on by the way...) my mom reminded me that we had plans to go out for dinner to celebrate my joining the Army. She also informed me that she and my aunt had already picked where we were going. Luckily, it was BBQ place that was delicious so I wasn't annoyed :D 

We went to Famous Dave's. That must be Dave on the menu, but I'm not exactly sure.

I had this thing with two meats (I picked chicken and pork mmm...) and these mashed potatoes that were to die for delicious and potato salad. And that corn bread? Might have been the best I've ever had. 

My sister and my cousin thought they might try the extra hot BBQ sauce...Bad idea. You can see my cousin in the background (not posing!) with that holy-crap-this-stuff-is-hotter-than-I-would-have-guessed look on her face. 

Basically, it was just a really awesome family filled day of laziness that was a long time coming...And we all celebrated me being able to join the Army. That is a far cry from the crying and head-shaking that came with me joining the Marine over a year ago... 

Love it when I can come home and write a post like this.

Ranty...

Have I ever said that being 19 is hard? Okay, I have probably said it 100 times. But it's just true.

Right now, I'm in a really good place. Things seem to actually be going my way. I've made a lot of decisions all by myself and I'm working really hard to be happy by myself and with my man. The first one is a lot harder than the second...that is for sure.

All that stuff makes it exponentially easier to be 19 than it was only a few moths ago. But it can still be really difficult. I feel like everyone is constantly watching my every move just waiting for me to make a wrong move so that they can say "I told you so." I get all this constant advice that is very commonly invalid (I'm not saying I don't like getting advice from those who have experienced more living than I have. I'm aware that these people are older and wiser, but they haven't been in my situation...and they need to let me make my own mistakes and quit telling me "You should...")  and doesn't apply to me or my situation.

I just get tired of being...judged? I don't know if that's the right word. I feel like my relationship isn't taken seriously. It's like...our engagement doesn't mean as much as any other person. It's true that it is very different. We can't set a wedding date, we don't get to see each other, we have a relationship through text messages and phone calls...It's different. But It shouldn't be discounted.

I also shouldn't have to explain wanting to get married. I've had to do that a lot too. I know people who got engaged after us who are getting married in September and no one asks them "what's the rush?" But I get asked that all the time. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Uh..becuase I want to be married to the love of my life. Just like all the other engaged people in the world...

jeez.

Sunday Social

 

So I see these 'Sunday Social' things on most of the blogs I read, and I don't usually have a good way to answer the questions, but today, I do! So here I go, first timing this 'Sunday Social'. Do you have something interesting to say? Head over to A Complete Waste Of Makeup and join in the linky party :)

1. What is your dream job?

I would love to be sitting in one room apartment writing books that make teenagers every where love reading...But as it turns out, I'm not the most gifting story writer, so that won't ever happen. Other than that, I really want to be an officer in the Marines...maybe someday...

 

2. If you had just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

I would pick up and move to California and live with my Marine and spend every possible minute with him until he gets annoyed. Then I would do the usual stuff, read, blog, Pinterest, sew, craft, play tons of music, and work out.

 

3. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I've always wanted to be a teacher. Not very exciting, but I always looked up to my teachers when I was little and wanted to be just like them. I did occasionaly dream of being a rodeo queen though. I grew up around horses and thought that I had what it took to be Rodeo Queen Material.

 

4. What piece career advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?

Well, if we're talking about my current job, I would say move up as quickly as possible. My company is growing so quickly and it's getting even more competative. The time to advance is now. If we're talking about the military, I would say, keep you head up and always do your very best work 100% of the time.  It pays off in the end to know what you're doing and be the best at it.

5. Biggest Pet Peeves.

Quiters, people who depend on you for everything but are dependable for nothing, busy days at work where there is no time to blog, people who compare their two week relationships to my over a year long distance relationship, doubters, being underestimated...And I could probably write a post just about petpeeves so I better stop now.  

6. Biggest Fears

Losing J, something happening to my sisters, parents etc., failing, being late, and throwing up, getting fat.

:D Yay for my first Sunday Social!

 

Raising The Bar

In prepartion for "basic", as all the cool kids call it, I've started this little fitness log in a journal I found while tearing my room apart. I wrote in dates thinking it would force me to actually do the PT tests... Hopefully it works. I want to blow those minimum requirements out of the water by the time I leave for basic in January.

This little fitness log is also going to include one of these "What I Ate Today" type things. I'm kinda scared to start it. I don't know what the heck I eat and I have a feeling it isn't good...I'm starting it on Monday (because of course, you can't possibly start anything new on any other day of the week...). I've also started a really mean work out at the gym and I have begun using...the eliptical. I hate that stupid thing, but it makes me hurt and that has to be a good thing. I'm about to become a major gym-rat...

Also, I'm giving up one of my new favorite things...It's sad because I just barely found out that I love it.  It's...Pepsi Throwback. I am a Pepsi-hater and a strictly Coke-Drinker. But I decided to give this stuff a try and I love it. Sadly, it has to go. I don't care if it is made from real sugar, it's bad for me and will make me run slower. I'm sure of it.  Along with the soda, I'm changing my eating habits completely. I've been planning on doing it forever, and now I've got some major motivation. Hopefully I actually stick to it.

In other news, check out my cute little garden! It's kinda hard to see in the picture, But it's really flourishing and I'm so excited to harvest! Because I got it in the ground a little bit late, I won't be able to harvest until the end of August maybe early September. But I'm really proud of that thing and how it turned out. It was very theraputic to do it and it may have saved my relationship...They really mean it when they say that gardening is cheaper than therapy!

And that's that. See you next time!

Settled Dust

**Please excuse this blog-of-many-colors thing I've got going on. I'm trying to redesign and appartenly, I'm not as tech-savvy as I thought. So I appreciate you sticking around and continuing to read even though things are totally crazy! I'm most likely getting a brand new professionally designed layout that will put an end to the mess. So stay tuned!**

Now that the dust has settled a little bit and I don't feel like I'm walking blindfolded throught the Forrbiden Forest without my wand...(yeah, I did just reference Harry Potter...) I feel like I can breathe. I can breathe and I can blog. It has been so hard to say what is on my mind because there have been just about 58 things on my mind and I couldn't organize the thoughts in my head let alone on a "piece of paper" (or rather I guess a piece of internet.)
So now, I feel like I can disclose what is up with everything.

Right now, I've got a whole list.

Now that I am in the Army Reserve, I have to get serious about working on my fitness. I'm not ridiculously out of shape, but you can always get better and I definitely need to get better!  I'm excited to start a new fitness plan and work my butt off every day to become the kind of soldier that I want to be.

Also, J and I working on getting married. You would think that it wouldn't be all the difficult to just up and get married. Well it is. I'm coming to find out that the military is against marriage. Okay, they aren't against marriage, but they sure like to make it difficult. Luckily, I have this new thing that helps me cope: Patience. Some might debate that I have no patience at all, but they aren't me and don't have to live in exactly this life that I am living, so to me, I'm being very patient. And I won't let anyone tell me different.

On top of this, I realllllly need a new vehicle. I'm pulling 9 extra hours for the next 3ish weeks and I'll also be getting paid by the Army to go up to my unit each month and work. Hopefully, that means that a "new" car is just around the corner. Wouldn't that be nice?

On top of that I kinda want a new job...I'm not making any changes just yet, but I just feel like after I've been here for a year or maybe a little bit longer, I'm going to have a lot more oppertunities available to me. I'll have to quit this job to go to basic anyway, so maybe instead of coming right back, I'll look for something new. I'm trying really hard to keep my mind and my options as open as possible.

I say it all the time, but it is so amazing to me how quickly things change. I just hope that this is all for the better.

From USMC to US Army?

Oh hey there blog I've been neglecting, want to hear about my day? I'd love to tell you. It was pretty awesome...

Let's review.

October 16, 2011 

I decided to run my bike off a cliff and ended up with this lovely injury. It ended up causing me to get discharged form the Marine Corps Delayed Entry Program and crushed my dreams of becoming a Marine.

Fast forward almost an entire year later...

July 7, 2011

I went to visit J in 29 Palms for the 4th of July. He and I are laying there watching TV and an Army commercial comes on. "Babe, why don't you join the Army...?"

When I got home, I hooked up with the local recruiting station and I slapped this on their desk.

Tuesday, I had a consult for my injury scheduled, but the doctor decided to take a holiday...So Today, I took another early morning trip to the MEPS, peed in a cup (again...) danced around in my underwear (again...) went to the doctor (late because of a broken X-Ray machine), came back to MEPS, slapped my papers on the Doc's desk and cried in front of the entire medical staff when they said, "Welp, you're qualified."

So there I am. Swearing into the US Army

Standing at an impeccable parade-rest. (That's my recruiter on my left)

And being really excited for that day to be over...

 I went out for an icecream with my mommy. 

WI may not have done this whole military thing exactly the way that I planned, (and I'm still a little bit sad that I'm not back in the Marine Corps DEP...) but here I am, enlisted again when I never thought it would be possible again.  Hopefully, this will end up to be the best choice for my life right now and for my future. I am so excited to have a whole new set of adventures and learn how a completely different branch works. I report to my unit next week and I start my road to becoming a Soldier...What the hell right?

Excuses, excuses...

Over and over again, I say that there is no way to predict what is going to happen next in your life, yet I am always extremely surprised at what I find around the corner. But lately, it's good stuff :D

I'm kind of afraid to talk about what is going on right now...I don't want to jinx it. But when/if everything that I'm hoping for works out, the blog will hear about it, that is for sure.

After my consult tomorrow, I will lay down a post that will blow your mind with how awesome it is, but right now, I can't keep my mind in one place long enough to write something that feels worth it. So, until tomorrow!

The Bloggy Life

Yesterday, I got some good news.

On Tuesday, I get to go in for a consult appointment for the Army. Should they decide at this appointment that I am no longer broken and I can go the distance, I will begin processing for a waiver and I will become a Reservist for the United States Army. Boy, how things change.

When I started this blog, my intentions were to document my engagement, then my life with my Marine. I wanted it to be a place where I could talk about how I was preparing to build a happy home with my future husband and talk about how we survive this long distance relationship.

Things have definitely changed.  Like I said in my very first post, this blog is unlike others I have ever created. I wanted to actually talk about my life.

I have really gone through a lot of changes since I started blogging here. When I started in March, I was excited to be engaged, I missed J, I was jealous/sad/really lost. Things just weren't going well for me besides the fact that I was happy to have a ring on my finger.

Now here I am a few months later, feeling like a completely different person. I guess that happens a lot when you're this age though. Things have a way of switching up on you without notice. Really, it happens at all stages of your life, I guess.  Since I have started this blog I have...

complained a lot.
bought a bunch of thrifty things for my wedding.
been ridiculously unhappy with my life
been really happy with my life.
been unbelievably ungrateful for the things that I have.
gone to 29 Palms three times.
gotten broken up with.
made/planted a garden.
gotten back together with J (technically we're not engaged. But honestly, we might as well be...don't tell him that though ;))
decided to join a different branch and go to school.
taken the high road.
put a sewing machine in my room.
gutted my room of junk to prepare for a yard sale (It's tomorrow! I'm excited and sad...)
And I have been happier than I have ever been before...

Wow...what a flipfloppy blogger I am...

Happy 50th post to me!

"It's Ok" Thursdays

I decidied to link up today and tell everyone what is just...Ok.  That being said...

It's Ok...

that I arrived for work on hour early by accident.

that I have bills to pay but I'm shopping for a "pay day" outfit.

that I want to quit my job and move to California to be with my my man.

that I haven't been to the gym in weeks and it's starting to show...

that I make too much money to complain about my job, but I complain anyway.

that I was really excited when I got my 10th follower on here yesterday.

that I'm kind of a mess right now...

And It's OK that I have a blogging obsession!

What's okay with you? Go and link up and tell us about it!

House Sitting

This week I am house/cat sitting for some friend that I play music with.

Meet Unit.

 Unit is the outside cat that mostly leaves you alone during the day, but the second it's time to go to bed, he wants to be your best friend. He purrs so loud it sounds like he's growling. And I'm pretty sure that I heard him snoring this morning.  Also, he wasn't happy unless he was laying right on top of my in some way throughout the night...

This one is named Samantha.

She's the inside cat.  She is very needy and wants to be your best friend as well. Her weird quirk? She like to jump in the bathtub and drink the water that drips from the faucet. Weird? Pretty much!

So far, house sitting is pretty fun. I like to be by myself. Especially in the morning. I love to get ready with out my whole family bustling around me. It makes me think that should this whole Army thing work out, I should move out. I'll be making more than enough money and living alone wouldn't be so bad. At least I wouldn't have to share my eyelash curler...

I'll keep you posted on how my house sitting goes. :)

Nervous

I'm starting to feel very nervous about this whole Army thing.

I've been doing my very best not to get my hopes up and get excited, but it's difficult.  It's not exactly what I wanted in the first place, but it definitely seems like a good choice. On top of that, J is supportive of it. He would support me in any decision I made, but he has definitely let me know time and time again that he's rather I didn't join the Marines. He continually tells me that I'll hate it and it's not as glorious as I think it is. The more he says it, the more discouraged I get and the less passionate I feel about the Marines...

Of course, J would never tell me that I couldn't join the Marines. We don't tell each other what to do. But he is looking out for my best interest and he doesn't think it's a good decision for me to make...again.

With the Army though, things are completely different. In fact, you could almost say that it was his idea. We were laying  in bed one day at the hotel in 29 Palms when an Army Recruiting commercial came on. He looked at me and said "Why don't you do that?" I looked at him confusued.
"Do what...?"
"join the Army!"
And it's not like it hadn't crossed my mind but I just figured they wouldn't want me either.

When I got home from 29 Palms, I went to the recruiting station and I talked to recruiters and they told me that I could serve in the Army Reserve, go to school, do ROTC, and graduated with a Degree and as a Commissioned officerYou get paid as a reservist, you can have another job and your schooling gets paid for...Okay, how is that a bad idea?

The best part is, that J is completely supportive of it and it will make our life together a whole lot easier than if I went active duty Marines or did something beside what I've decided on (that is if it all works out...)

So wish me luck. I will find out in the next couple of days here. When I know...my 10 followers will the the second to know. (gotta tell J first!)

Change

First of all! I got my anniversary present last night! My ring! I have been feeling so naked without it and I am sooo happy to have it back where it belongs. The thing about wearing a ring, is that I don't love it because it's beautiful and I love it more than any piece of jewlery I've ever owned... (okay I do, but there is more to it.) I wear it because when I look down at it, I get to think about J and how I belong to him and no one else. It makes me feel good and even though I know it anyway, I love to have the ring to remind me. I mean come on, look at it...He picked it out himself without any help from me!

And now onto a completely different topic.

I'm gearing up for a yard sale and a complete room remodel. That means that I have gotten into all the crap on the top shelf of my closet and torn it all down and it looks like this.

Don't judge me for my orange walls...it's my favorite color.

I have found a few little treasure though that I am really excited to use in my new and improved room.

I found this cool little mirror and these plastic shelf things that I'm sure I can put to use and this clothes pin apron that my great grandma embroidered.



And I'm sure that I am just scratching the surface of cool stuff I'm going to find burried in my room.

I have also found a lot of stuff that I want/have to sell in our yard sale. Yesterday, some friends we play music with had a yard sale at their house and my sister took some of her old clothes and toys over there to sell. She make $35+ Which is pretty good when you're selling most stuff for a quarter.

It's funny, though, how I'll find something and I'll want to keep it because it reminds me of something. Like when I was younger I had the planets hanging from my ceiling with a whole bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars. I found them in a bag that I put them all in when I redid my room in highschool. My grandma bought me the solar system kit from the planeterium when I was in fifth or sixth grade and I stuck constellastions (yes, I did actual constellations...I was a nerd) up on my ceiling and putting them in a bag to sell to someone else is a lot harder than I would have thought. All I can think about is how excited I was when I got it and the big hug I gave my grandma.  If I remember correctly it was expensive. And it has pluto in it. I hated pluto, so whatever., but still, it's cool because it's not a planet anymore.

Basically, I'm discovering that getting rid of my old crap will not be as cut-and-dry as I would hope...But oh well I guess, when you grow up, things just have to change.  And usually, it's going to be for the better.

Soft Landings

I don't know when I got so domestic (let's blame it on Pinterest!) but all I ever want to do is cook, clean ( I used to HATE cleaning with a burning passion...especially dishes. Now I love doing dishes.) sew, and craft. What the heck?

If I had to decided exactly where this new-found love for DIY, cleaning/organizing, sewing, and saving love really came from, I think it's more of an indicator that I am making a transition into true adulthood. Sure, I was technically an adult at 18. At that age you can get jobs you couldn't get before, buy dry ice, go to the county jail instead of DT, vote, and join the military. But as I prepare to do things like live on my own, join the Army (if that works out...), get married (eventually!), and live a life independent of my parents, I'm very concerned with making things work out well for me.

And Pinterest just feeds the obsession...It makes it all so accessible. Why would I ever want to buy a dress again if I can make one that is less expensive and custom made for my body? Why do you eat out when you can find a million things that taste better than Cafe Rio? How do you justify shopping anywhere but thrift stores when you know that Pinterest, in conjunction with the blogworld, will help you create exactly what you need? 

It makes me feel confident, that when I'm living on my own and I have a family, we can live a life in which we take control of the things that we can control, and we let the rest of the pieces settle into place wherever they fit. Sure, you can't plan for what is around the corner, but you can try to make yourself a soft landing incase it's going to be a pit-fall...

On The Bright Side

Holy crap a lot of stuff is going on right now. And all good stuff for the most part! That doesn't happen very often so I'm going to shout it from the roof tops  my blog and enjoy it while it lasts.

First of all, yesterday was the anniversary of the day that J asked me to be his girl friend. I was so excited to talk to him all day and he didn't end up having time to talk to me until the very end of the day. When I finally got to talk to him I nearly exploded with enthusiam...I was pretty excited. I told him happy anniversary and he finally unblocked (he blocked me on Facebook because he thought it'd be so funny or something...uh, not funny...) me from FB as my gift. How thoughtful right? Overall, a good anniversary and I got another gift that I'll be posting about later. I don't have a picture to go with it for now.

Also, I am on the 'Top 20' list at work! That means that I have one of the top 20 test scores in 4 call centers! All you get it a lame candy bar, but it's still really exciting. On top of that, I have the highest score on my team! Hopefully I keep it up. It would be nice to be one of those consistently high-scoring CAs...It's nice to know that you're good at your job and be recognized for it!

Next, I have finally begun to tear my room apart. I'm starting with all of the paper clutter and working my way up. Since I put my sewing machine in my room (probaly a really bad idea...) I haven't gotten much done because I'm just teaching myself how to sew cool stuff. That wouldn't be a problem if I didn't already have so much to do.  It might be weird, but crossing stuff off of a To-Do list is one of my favorite feelings. It makes me feel so accomplished!

This next thing might be a little bit shocking... I'm going from the DEP in the United States Marine Corp...

And I'm trying to get into the Army Reserve. What the heck right?!

I'm actually really excited about it. With the Army Reserve, I have a lot of opertunites that I definitely would have had to pass up if I had continued to pursue going active duty Marines. So I'm currently working with a recruiter getting my package built up and I'm submitting all of my medical documents for review at the end of the month...I'm tyring really hard not to get my hopes up becasuse it's not unlikely with this type of injury that I will get denied, but I'm hoping for the best and trying to prepare myself for some disappointment.

If I do get in in these next few weeks though, I will start drilling with my unit, go to Basic Training in a few months, after that AIT and I'll be a freakin Soldier...after that, I can start school and ROTC and work on becoming an officer in the United States Army...What up?

Hopefully, there is even more good stuff to come but we all know what happens when Katie here starts to make plans and get excited about things...So, join me in hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.

My dangerous new toy

When my grandma (basically my favorite person in the universe. I can't believe I haven't really mentioned her in this thing!) died, she left a few sewing machines behind that were given to my mom do with what she pleased. My mom, being the psychic that she is, knew that I'd eventually want to be a wonderful seamstress/quilter/all around awesome sewer so she kept this beauty safe for me until I discovered exactly how much I loved sewing.

That's my very own!

And of course, along with a sewing machine, you need several other little materials. We uncovered me a magnetic pin-cushion, and an old miniature ironing board that was my great-grandma's.  

Looks pretty old, doesn't it?

So of course, I promptly took a page out of my mothers proverbial book and Christmas wrapped the board with fabric and pinned it up so it would stay put.

And ended up with that awesome finished product to iron my little heart out.

After doing some practicing and trying to decide what the heck I'm going to make, I started into making a little bow. It was a little bit of a disaster...

Don't worry, the second one turned out great! I don't know what I'll do with it, but I'm sew (hehe just being a little punny) excited to start sewing up everything made of fabric that I can find...And I just might be up all night trying new things and becoming a professional sewer before my very own eyes....

P.S-- I'm considering starting another blog or doing a weely post or something in which I try a new little DIY/sewing project every day for however long I have ideas for. Yea or Nay? 

Working...

It feels like I have written anything in a century, so this might be a little bit word vomitty...deal with it :)

So, first of all, I returned form 29 Palms last night around 10:30. It was my first road trip all by myself, I drove about 1200 mile round trip all by my lonesome. Although I had mega anxiety about it, once I was on the road, I really enjoyed the drive alone. I could listen to whatever I wanted, drive the as fast as I felt comfortable with and I didn't have any pressure do drive some certain way. It was kind of liberating and I felt very adult.

The trip itself was quite wonderful. J and I had a great time together and being truly alone for several days for the first time ever was fantastic. We didn't really do much except for swim and enjoy each other's company. I am so glad that I got to go...I didn't take any pictures, but I'm not much of a let's-snap-a-picture-of-this-moment type of person so...oh well.

In other news, I'm back at work today. Part of me is like "Woo, I needed a day of playing on the computer after driving all day yesterday" the rest of me is like "ugh, I have to go to work..."

Lately, though, things have been pretty interesting around here. Working in a call center can be hard, especially for someone like me who had a hard sitting through class in high school and we had to get up every 90 minutes. It doesn't help that I have almost zero human contatct throughout the day. I speak to a computer and not to a person, so I never really have to have any interactions with anyone.

On the bright side, though, there are a lot of interesting characters here. For example, I may have mentioned this girl before, but she kind of looks a little bit like Emmy Rossum and she must have been told that one too many times, becasue she is clearly obsessed with her. Her wallpaper on her computer is Emmy Rossum, and she looks at pictures of her and reads articles about her all day long...What the heck?! She also pulls her pants up into shorts (we're not allowed to wear shorts in the center) once she's in her seat...goodness it's strange, but to each their own I guess.

Also, they've been sending out emails that say stuff like, "Don't put your feet on the desk." or "Please no clipping your fingernails." or "Don't take things that aren't yours" How old are we people? You should not have to be told these things...

The break room can be pretty funny too. If there is one person at each table, people will stand awkwardly against the counter or wall so they don't have to sit with someone else. And if two people are sitting together and chatting, you think to yourself, "How do they know each other? They must have met in training, or maybe they knew each other before..." It's such a mystery because there really aren't other ways to get to know people...

My job really gives me mixed feelings.

My Very First Link Up!

I decided that since I see these "Link Up"s all over the place, I might as well give it a shot!  Be sure to check out Ms. Monologues and link up too! So, here it goes.

Hey there bloggers of the world.  My name is Katie. I just turned 19 this year and I looove blogging. I've been blogging here on "Trampling The Pansies"  Since March 23rd of this year.  I started this blog to begin documentation of my life with my Marine.

He is currently stationed 591 miles away from me and we're rocking that whole long-distance-relationship thing. It's really difficult, but we both know that it will eventually be worth all the heart ache when we can be together again.

I spend most of my time working as a relay operator for the deaf and hard of hearing in a call center. That's where I make all of my blog updates (in fact, that's where I am right now!) When I'm not working, I like to work in my garden, work out, cross stitch, and come up with project I can do to keep me as busy as possible.

I'm starting school at the community college in the fall for law enforcement to eventually become a police officer. At least that's the plan now. When you're 19, things have a way of changing at the drop of hat, a fact I'll probably never get used to. 

My original plan was to be a Marine. That was driven to a sudden halt when I broke my arm and ended up disqualified. I was forced to change all my life plans.  That's something that I'm discovering won't stop until...well ever.

I love to sew and learn new things and I like to blog about anything and everything that pops into my head. Some times I post a zillion pictures, and some times I don't, but you can trust that you'll see something from me at least once a week. I really love to blog :)

Thanks for visiting from Blog Star, and I hope you liked my very first "Link up"!

My Best Friend

Okay, basically, I feel like I have been trying to write this post forever and it has only been yesterday and today.

I started yesterday, but then I got busy. Then this morning, I couldn't think of how to put things. But now that I have worked from 4:00am-6:30am, taken a trip to wal-mart, eaten a bunch of food that is definitely not appropriate for breakfast, and taken a nap while watching a movie on the couch in the break room, I am refreshed and ready to start not only my regular 7hr. shift, but this post I have been trying to conquer for what seems like a million days...

July is a pretty big month for J and I. As of July 1st, we have known each other for 1 year. The 4th of July is the anniversary of our very first date and July 12th, we have been together for 1 year (I say it still counts even though we aren't technically together right now, we might as well be.) 

So I figured that maybe I should tell you about him! Most of what I've said about him is just whining. So maybe I should tell you how great he is too huh?

Basically, J is your average guy. He like to hunt, fish, and shoot guns. He likes to learn new songs to play on the guitar and sing (except he won't sing loud enough for anyone to hear him even though he's actually really good.) He has more cammo gear than I have ever seen in my life and the coolest toys to play "Army Guys" ever. He's not the biggest fan of video games, but he'll play them when he's bored or if he feels like it. He has a big family that has definitely rasied him right.

He always opens my door for me whenever we go through one or get in or out of the car (actually it was kind of hard to get used to just sitting in the car and waiting for him to come around and open the door for me.) I've never had to pay for a meal (except for his when I've got my mom's card and it's like, whoo not our money! Or there's some special reason I want to pay) Every moment we have spent together has been...amazing.  I don't know how I could have found someone better to love. I probably could have found someone less complicated that wasn't a Marine, but I don't want them.

So there you have it. That's J in a very small nutshell. There's a lot more to him that just a couple paragraphs, but that's what you get. ;)