Maybe I'm Crazy. Maybe I'm Not.

We meet again, hump day. 

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I wish it had been mashed potato day in the dining commons...but alas, it was not. But I did get to eat a lemon cheese cake bar. I don't know if I have ever expressed my love for cheese cake here on the blog, but I seriously love it. So I guess that makes for a successful hump day.

I also figured out how I'm going to pay for the rest of this semester and I've made a to-do list about 4 miles long for next several months of my life...I may ever have to add in things like "sit back and relax for a few minutes" to my to-do list to make sure that I get to it. 

I have decided that I need to get myself one of those high speed planners and I need to work on my time management.

PlumPaper

 With my new blog launching in January, I really do not want to miss a beat.  I'm actually doing a lot of planning for that new venture. It's sort of giving me a head ache, but I think it's going to be worth it. I think that it's time to turn over a new leaf.  I am a completely different person from the time that I started this blog and I believe that a new year will be the start of something great. 

I can't believe how much I have changed over the course of two years. I feel like my entire world has been shaken. I am constantly changing my mind about things I have known for my entire life. I just thought yesterday that I might get a quarter sleeve tattoo. I have always been one to hate sleeves, but the more I look at them, the more I like them. it's just...art and I love it. 

It's getting to where I look in the mirror and I barely recognize the person staring back at me. Honestly, I think that's a good thing.  Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe not. I don't really care :)

That Time I Ate on Katie Ave. at a Terrifying McDonald's

Friday was...not a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

First of all, I had all these plans to go out and find a library and read all day, but then I realized that it was Nevada Day and the libraries were closed. Because of that, I changed my plans. I decided to go to the book store instead. After doing some mapping with Siri, I found where the Barnes & Nobel was and I set out for my car. 

When I got to it, this is what I discovered.

Flat.

I figured I'd just have to change the tire, but before I started jacking anything up, I did what any girl 400 miles away from home does. I called my daddy. By the end of the day, I had probably called my dad about five times...I'd never had to do anything dealing with my car all alone.

While I was on the phone with him, I sent him a picture of the tire and we deduced that I could drive it around the corner to put some air in it. I was scared out of my mind but I did what I had to do and put some air in the tire then I got to go take a little trip to Discount Tires. 

There I ended up having to wait for 45 minutes, so I went to the McDonalds down the street. Bad idea. 

The manager was yelling at all the employees and freaking out. Then these two guys started to fight.  Luckily it was just verbal, but it looked like it was going to break out into a fist fight any second...These are the little things that remind me that I no longer live in happy valley. 

On the bright side, the McDonald's is located at the corner of Maryland Parkway and...wait for it...Katie Avenue!  I have been meaning to take picture of my street forever but I didn't have an opportunity until Friday!

So anyway...finished up at Discount pretty quick after my terrifying trip to Mickey D's. I got away with only buying one tire...but I probably need to replace the other three ASAP. Yay for being an adult...But finally, I could head to Barnes & Noble. In case you're wondering, it is really far away from where I live...I took the scenic route through downtown Las Vegas and it took forever but it was actually pretty worth it. Driving around down there is not so bad. It's fun to see all the wedding chapels. Plus, the Pawn Stars place is on Las Vegas BLVD. I saw the main dude driving some old car out of the parking lot!

On the way to the book store I got lost took a little detour.  I decided to just stop at a Walmart that wasn't scary as shit and buy the random stuff I have been putting off buying. I walked out with toilet paper, air fresheners for my car, three pomegranates, and a key chain to prevent accidents.

Besides, it's really cute. 

But eventually, I made it to the book store...I was there forever...I wander the aisles for maybe two hours looking at all the random bargain books I didn't have any use for and the novels that I simply had to read...basically, if a place has got shelves filled with books and it smells like paper and coffee, I can be occupied for hours. 

I got myself to buy some books on that list from Pinterest even though I really don't have the money to do that...I wanted em and the day had been crappy.

But today hasn't been so bad. I went to work, did some reading, watched Grey's anatomy (again) and now, I'm heading out to have some dinner with my friend from AIT and I'm so excited! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. 

Oh, and don't forget about the giveaway on Monday! It's going to be awesome!

After A Frosty Beverage In Las Vegas

Welcome to Bloody Marys Count as a Salad # 15

<center> <a href="http://www.aboyagirlandthemarinecorps.com/bloody-marys-count-as-a-salad/" target="_blank"><img alt="Bloody Marys Count as a Salad" src="http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag87/imjust_agirl1/BMCSHOP_zpse77a7000.jpg"/></a></center>

What's with the name?  We named it Bloody Mary’s Count as a Salad, because anything goes in this hop! Need to vent? Go for it! Need to say something snarky? DO IT!  Or do you just want to share your blog and/or a specific post?  We'd love to read it!  Anything you want to share, we want to see it!

And introducing a social aspect of the hop!  Each week we will feature a different social media linkup.  This week is Google Plus!  Link up your blog in the first linkup and your Google Plus profile in the second linkup!  

Of course, there are a few rules, we aren't going for hop chaos here!

1. Follow your hosts and each weeks special guest co-host.
2. Link up your blog or specific blog post.  Whatever you’d like to share is ok with us!
3. Visit 3-4 other blogs and say hello!  Try to be nice and follow those who follow you.  And don’t forget to say hi to your hosts if you are new!
4. Grab the link up button and put it in your side bar, in your post, or put our link on your link up party page.
5. Not mandatory, but we’d love to have you share our hop with others.  Tweet it, post about it, or share it on Facebook.  We’ll love you forever if you do… And it might help you grab a co-host spot next week.

Don't Forget to follow your Hosts and special Co-Host:

               A Girl                                                                           Erin                                                                        Kara

A Boy, A Girl, and the Marine Corps                 Unconventional Mommy Tails                             Ramblings of  Marine Wife

And ME as your special guest host: Camo-Colored Chaos

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I'm so excited to be the guest host for this link up today! I love it because literally anything goes!

 

It's a good thing it's Monday! I don't think that I could handle any more of my shenanigans this weekend...
This weekend, I sort of went crazy!
I got off of work and I took a little drive into 29 Palms. My friends have recently returned from a deployment and I felt like a visit was necessary.

So I picked up this guy and brought him back to Las Vegas.

This picture was taken when the night first began. He took me out to dinner on the Strip, something I haven't had the chance to do until now, and I checked us in on Facebook with this picture. Instantly my phone was blowing up...Everyone wanted to know who this guy was that I was running around Vegas with.
Honestly it was pretty funny. I multiple people text me to ask why I didn't tell them I had a new boyfriend...
The answer is simple: I don't.

So anyway, after a nice dinner together, we decided we needed to check a few things off of my list of things to do while I live in Vegas. But...first things first. A frosty beverage. Really frosty.

After we got ourselves a drink or two we started gallivanting down the strip looking for the things I wanted to do. First we ran into M&M World.  It was as cool as I pictured it!  Luckily in Vegas, everyone wants to take a picture for you, so we've got plenty!

Then, we rode the New York New York Roller Coaster. In hind site, It may not have been the best idea in the world after...a frosty beverage, but it turned out alright and was really a lot of fun. I was lucky I got to go out with someone who was so much fun!

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Rainforest Café in the MGM and I drove him back home to 29 Palms. It was an awesomely spontaneous couple of days and I'm so glad we did it! I think that this may be the first of a lot of great adventures in VegasLand...

Bring On The Red Bull

That's sarcasm people. Ya get me?

 Over the past....3 weeks, I have been obnoxiously busy with all sorts of stuff!

I was inducted into the United States Army Chemical Corps

We had this cool ceremony where we got our regimental crests. It was something that I was really quite proud to be a part of. 

I got to see my parents for the first time in two months!

I graduated from AIT on 24 June 2013! 

I sang the National Anthem at said graduation (yuh...seriously. I did.)

I said goodbye to all my friends that are being spread out across the world to go to work.

I moved into a new building, with a new roommate. I am now in a different company with new rules, a different Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and a whole lot more freedom. And a mini fridge! We pulled a switcheroo with the room across the hall. So ours even works.

I chopped all of my hair off yesterday....

Along with my new hair style, I also got this awesomely painful sunburn to go with it. It is just....so cute. 

And now, here I am. Blogging in my "spare" time. I really should be napping, but instead, I'm just going to compensate later with a lil' 16 Oz Red Bull. 

I have been having the time of my life for the past few weeks. I am not quite ready to return to the civilian world and be a weekend warrior once again. I know that it's inevitable, but I don't like to think about it too much...

I know that I have to move on and do work, but I kind of just want to stay put. I was just starting to get used to being here and living this life. I don't want to leave it yet. 

For the first time in quite a long while, I feel like I can say with confidence, I am happy.

Mystery Host!

I am so dang excited to be the Mystery Host for the Wednesday Walkabout! I love this link up because you don't have to post anything specific. You just write whatever you feel like and you get to meet new bloggers in the process! I love it and I am too excited to be a part of it this week.

I have not been blogger of the year these past few days...I haven't been busy exactly, but for some reason, getting my blog stuff done has been really difficult.  But don't worry! I'm getting to it now :)

I have been up to so much though! I have been making Christmas gifts.
I got the cutest pedicure ever.
I bought Pitch Perfect...And watched it twice already.
Searched for Magic Mike on DVD...Still can't find it.
Learned a new song (The Cave)

I had a crazy Saturday where I hung out with 4 different people and drank yet another hot drink! I'm doing so well with this "embracing the suck" thing.
I discovered a song that is helping me keep my head up.
I ate at my favorite lunch place...That pulled pork is the best I've ever had...
And, best of all, I got to see one of my best friends! She's a Marine and lives in NC so getting to see her every once in a while is always awesome.

You see why it has been so hard to sit down and blog? So much has been going on. It's hard to be 19, but it also rocks...There is so much out there to be experienced and I am lucky that I get to.  I' say quite often that I don't have friends, that I never had anything to do, that I am a loner...In some ways, I am just that. But I can't say that I'm not blessed and I don't have some wonderful people and things in my life. 

I have a lot to learn about life and what it means to me. I have even more to learn about just...me in general. I don't know exactly who I want to be or what I want to do, but I'm doing my very best to figure it out, and that has to be enough for now, whether I like it or not... That was sort of a random lil' tangent there, but...oh well!

Oh and check out my buddy's blog! He's new to blogging, but I find myself extremely entertained with what he write and the way he writes it. Maybe you will be too!

New here? Please introduce yourself! Looking for a neat sponsoring opportunity? Check out this page.

 

<a href="http://www.taingamala.com/" target="blank"> <img src="http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc422/JaneAdensam/WednesdayWalkabout.png"/> </a>

What is a Walkabout? It's a blog link-up party, every week here and with our co-hosts! Simply put your blog address or a specific post in the linky, visit some other people, and make some friends. Easy at that! I can't wait to talk to everyone!

PS: You only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts!

The Rules:

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how to follow you! To be entered as next week's Mystery Host, follow all hosts from this week.

Mystery Host Katie- Camo Colored Chaos

Chantal- Scattered Shells

Jane- Taingamala

Sarah- G.I. Joe's Wife

Jamie- Handling with Grace

2. Try to visit 3-4 blogs that interest you. Take some time and let them know where you came from.

3. Grab the button and spread the word! (Not required, but just cool if you do). The more, the merrier.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Yeah Yeah, I know two posts in one day...but I'm just feeling bloggy today.  I have a lot to say for some reason.

Although J is doing his mountain warfare training this month and won't be back to his barracks until around June 21st, he got the chance to call me. Twice! His phone doesn't have service, but his friend's does. It was nice to hear from him after two weeks of nothing from him at all.  I loved hearing that he'd been thinking about me even though the whole point of this time apart is to not think about each other...ha...that's a laugh.

So far, this time not talking as been good for us. At least it has been good for me. I'm not worried about why he is or isn't talking to me and I can just enjoy myself and stay busy and do as much stuff as I can to have a good time. I don't know why I haven't been doing this all along. It makes everything so much easier.

I've been hiking, playing music, working in my garden, cleaing my house (ugh...not fun) and staying nice and busy and at the end of the day, I'm excited that I have things to tell J other than, "Today sucked, I miss you. Life sucks. I never do anything..." I can tell that it makes him happier to hear that I'm not so down in the dumps.

***

In other news, I've begun car shopping.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to the car lot, get a loan and buy whatever I want, so I've really got to shop.

I would like to have this lovely pearl white Subaru Impreza.

But, yeah, that's not going to happen. I've been shopping a little bit on KSL.com (it's like craig's list except it's just local). I need to find what my dad calls an "out-of-town" car that I can pretty much take anywhere, but then I find myself linger on things that really aren't practical.

Such as jeeps. I can't even describe to you how bad I want a jeep that I can take the top off and drive all over the mountains, but they really just aren't cars that you want to take all over the place, just into the mud.

Even more than a jeep, I'd be so very happy with one of these. No, it's not a Bronco! It's an International Scout...I don't know why I want one so bad, but it really doesn't matter, because they, like Jeeps and the car I currently have are not practical...damn practicaltiy...

Most likely, I will end up getting something like a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla, something more in my price range and a bit more suitable for my situation. Currently, I'm driving a GMC Jimmy that guzzles gas faster than I can fill the tank...Anything with better fuel economy will do, even though I dream of bigger and better vehicles.  Hopefully I'll be getting something new very soon and all on my own!

Cheaper Than Therapy

I have been needing something to keep my mind off of all my troubles. I chose to begin this gigantic project of turning nothing into something. After all, they say gardening is cheaper than therapy and will do the same things for ya. So far, I have not been disappointed. I have been working my butt off since I got home from work yesterday only stopping to drink water and then a quick gym break.

I started with that mess of weeds and ivy and bugs...ugh lots of bugs. 

After working for a few hours with a hoe, a shovel and a rake, I finally got the whole thing turned over and ended up finishing up around 9:00. It was dark when I got all done so it's hard to see all my hard work, but it looks a lot better. Lucky for me, my mom came out and decided that our "lawn" needed to be mowed. Now I have a nice little space to work that isn't totally overgrown with...every weed known to man.

I plan to build a fence to keep the chickens and the dog out, and I want to use paving stones around the outside edges to make it all cute. I have my work cut of for me, but so far, it's looking great and I'm feeling so good about it. Even if it yields nothing but weeds, at least I learned something from it and I get to take all my...pain and anger out on the weeds with the hoe...I love that hoe. 

After working a little bit more this morning, I've got this lovely mess that is well on it's way to looking like a garden. I can't wait for it to be all finished and to see my hard work pay off. 

If you have a garden and happen to know the best tricks in the world to make it successful, I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get! Your advice is greatly appreciated. :)


[EDIT]

After a quick little break to go help my mom out, I was back in the garden hard at work. (unfortunately I got a little waylaid when I found one of my little sister's chickens had been caught by my dog.   :( I felt so bad but I buried it and we had a nice little birdy funeral...sad day) Notice how sparkly I look...I hadn't really gotten into the meat of the work yet, just picked out more weeds and stuff that was still sitting in there. It had cooled off nicely and I had to throw on a flannel shirt so basically I felt like a farmer and it was awesome.


After turning over the soil again and again basically just being a human rototiller, I decided that I couldn't deal with all that ugly ivy. Of course the only solution was to rip it all out. Sadly I didn't have the necessary tools, so I just hack at it with the hoe...it got the job done but I could have used a machete...


That isn't even half of the ivy that I ripped off the fence, that's just a break time picture...it was ridiculous.

When I finally finished tearing off all the ivy, I decided that I wanted to plant my herbs in these wash tubs on the other side of the back yard. They already had soil in them and I figured I'd just mix it in with the garden dirt...I didn't think about the fact that the soil made it 10X heavier, I dragged it all the way across the yard, dumped out the soil and then was able to pick it up. I felt a little dumb. But look how cute they are!
After that, my dad came out and suggested I dig out the part right up next to the fence. So I did. It went pretty quick because now I'm basically an old pro.

This is the finished product after I dug up the back part, added two bags of manure, and added one bag of pete moss. When I was all finished cleaning up all the ivy and stuff, it was dark, so I couldn't get a good picture, but my garden just needs a fence and it will be all ready to plant. 

That is how I look now. Exhausted and ready to sleep a death-like sleep tonight. And definitely a little less sparkly...

Return To 29!

Well, I'm back from the desert again. This time the trip was a little bit different. First of all, I actually got some pictures. I'm going to warn you now, I'm taking this lovely little medication that I do believe is making me gain weight. I've gained ten lbs. in about...a month. And I'm lucky enough to carry it right in my belly, so I look nice and 4 months pregnant. I assure you, I'm not.
So, we jumped in the car around 06:00 and I took the first shift of driving (my first "long distance" drive!) and I drove us all the way to Cedar City. A whopping 3 and 1/2 hours from our house...Then I passed the keys on over to big sis and I let her drive the rest of the 6+ hours to our destination. It wasn't a bad drive, we made sure that we were prepared for it. I made us tuna fish and we brought plenty of good stuff to drink and snack on. Last trip, we just at McDonalds and stuff and felt real sick the whole time.


We pulled reached Las Vegas aroun 1:30 (we made really good time with my sister driving) and don't worry, we got a picture of the big tortoise on the freeway for you!  I suck at taking pictures with my phone.  So when I was tasked with taking this photo in the moving vehicle, I was very nervous, but never fear, I got the job done.
The nice thing about reaching Las Vegas, is it means that you're almost there. Once you hit Primm (The little town with the huge outlet mall and Whiskey Petes off I-15) you jump off the freeway and start into the Mojave Desert. That, my friends, is kinda scary if I'm being completely honest. Luckily though, it's the home stretch!



So we finally arrived and got all cleaned up and ready to go when we received the call that it was time to go pick up the Js (same name remember?). So we started our drive to the base and I got all excited when we finally drove through the gates. Even though I had seen him the weekend before the last it still felt like the first time in a century. Because there isn't much to do in 29 Palms and the pool was closed :( we had to think of other adventures. There was a gate ajar in the back of the parking lot, so we ventured through it and climbed a mountain and spotted rabbits and coyotes. Not a big deal.  The thing about the mountains in this god forsaken place, is they don't really look like mountains...I live in Utah in the Salt Lake Valley which means there's gigantic mountains all around me that are green and covered with snow from November to June so hiking up this mountain made me feel like I was on a different planet. But we got some kinda cutish pictures? See? 4+ months pregnant...not cool.

We also ventured into the town of Joshua Tree and went to a Flea Market (we saw a tortoise!) and a thrift store. And you know how I love thrift stores! The cool thing about this one, was it seemed to be in an old bank.  So there was  a vault in the back with clothes in it. It was kinda awesome...
But that pretty much concludes my trip to see my Marine. We had a wonderful time together and I miss him already.  The worst part? I haven't a clue when I'm going to see him again...