The Hubs, My Hero :)

For those of you who haven't caught on yet, my hubby is on a month (or longer) TDY (which is like a mini deployment and we have yet to know the exact return date). As I was really missing him today I started thinking....I really don't give him enough credit for what he is doing and does for our family on a daily basis! So this post is dedicated to The Hubs because he truly is my hero!

* note to all ... if you don't like mushy stuff you might want to skip this post! Consider yourself warned :)

A lot of times I find myself throwing a "poor me" party for myself because I am the one left behind to hold the fort down and take care of all the stuff that usually takes both of us to accomplish. Um yeah in all reality...I have the easy job! Now, we don't have kids yet so I might feel differently when we do (and I am not saying that it is easy taking care of everything here on my own) but I will say that in our current living situation I have it a lot easier than hubby! I am able to stay in the comfort of our own home...with my own routine...and we really don't have that much to take care of! But The Hubs, well, he has to go to a totally new a different place, lead a bunch of guys that he didn't really know before hand, do jobs that he has never done before (which would totally freak me out)...the list goes on and on...but he never once complains. He has to listen to me whine and complain about things going on here, supporting me in whatever ideas my wacky brain come up with next, all while dealing with all of the responsibilities he has over there! Babe you rock and I don't tell you that enough!! And even more than that he works his cute little behind off everyday to provide for our family and make it so that I don't have to worry about working full time!

He is a wonderful Man of God and he is always such an encouragement to me! He loves serving his country and I really admire him for that. He is so precious to me and never fails to make me laugh whether we are talking in person, over the phone, or through gmail! He constantly tells me he loves me and is honest with me even when it's hard. I love my man more than anything and thank God daily for bringing him to me :)

Babe, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all that you do for our little family. Your rock my world every day ;) I love you!

My First Blog Award :)

So it has taken me a while but I am finally getting to it!!

Thank you so much OceanDreams for the Blog Award :) I can't tell you how ecstatic I was to receive it and very flattered! It is so much fun to get a chance to meet new people like this lovely lady! I am always encouraged by her blog! She is such a sweetie and her heart for Christ and those around her shines through her writing. Check out her blog if you haven't yet!

Now for my award winners...drum roll please...

1. Iva

2. Rachael

3. Lil Miss Tabs

4. Olive Oyl

5. Allison

6. Amber

7. Noah's Mommy

The goals of this award..

1. As a dedication to those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it (oops it took me a few days)!

4. Don't forget to mention the person who gave you the award

5. Answer the awards question by writing the reason you love blogging

There are many reasons why I love blogging. I love that I can express myself through writing and talking about what goes on day to day. I love that there are so many awesome people out there that will read what I write and be supportive and accepted. Living the Military lifestyle of moving around a lot makes it hard to form good friendships, which is hard. Blogging and getting to read other peoples blogs is such a blessing and encouragement to me. I am able to connect with many different people in different places, form friendships, learn new things, and be able to encourage others...all from my portable computing device! There are so many wonderful people out there that I would never get a chance to connect with if it wasn't for blogging!!

6. Tag and distribute this award to as many people as you like

7. Don't forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post

You guys are all such amazing people...Thanks for all the support :) Oh and I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out!!

I Survived!!

OMG I survived my first sub job! I had recently signed up to start substitute teaching on base and was originally going to start in the fall (because I had a job at the current time). But as tends to happen in my life, the other job (which was a temp job) ended early and I thought "hey I should just start subbing right now" since NJ schools go through most of June. Well lets just say that after that I freaked and pictured kids gone wild as I try to control them with my feeble attempts at discipline! They called a couple times but due to previous obligations I was unable to accept and was I oh so relieved! The more I thought about it the more freaked out I became...there was no way I would be able to handle a class full of kids let alone TEACH them anything..not me!! I even called the district yesterday to see if I could observe first so that I would have some idea of what to do. They said sure but the lines of communication are usually clogged at some point in the system and I received a call this morning to sub!
I tried to explain my convo yesterday with the district...tried to plead my way out of it....tired to sound as pathetic as possible so they would say never mind...(oh and yes I do know I can just say no but those words don't come easily to me)....But oh no I was their last hope..there was no one else...and as previously discussed about saying no...I said yes! Lucky for me it was for a resource center teacher so I was only dealing with a small group of kids at one time. Thank you Lord! However, although it was only a small group....it was a very special group of young 3rd graders! I survived though and I even had a little fun!
I also had fears of the other teachers disapproving of me and besides being the only one in nice pants and heals (didn't know it was red white and blue casual day and I always have to be in heals) they were all very nice and accepting!
The kids were quite entertaining when I was ready to throttle them (I refrained)! I also have to admit that it was very rewarding when I saw them start to understand what I was teaching them! Also since it is a military school it was neat to see the kids perspectives on moving all the time and the different places they have lived.

I have learned three things about myself today...
1) I really shouldn't freak out so easily about everything because a lot of times the end result is not going to be the end of me!
2) I really need to brush up on my math...it's embarrassing when the students have to correct me but as one student told me "It's okay, everyone is allowed to make mistakes"!
3) I don't really think I ever want to be a teacher....to much stress... but I give them even more props now (i'll just stick to subbing)!

Tag Your It!!

Yay another tag...I think I am getting the hang of it (although I'm not very quick)! The lovely Iva tagged me and I was ecstatic!! She is a total gem and you should go check out her blog if you haven't already :)

Rules

1) Mention who tagged you (yay for Iva again)

2) list 6 unimportant things that make you happy

1) The sun and warm weather (If you can't tell I am not a cold weather person)

2) lazy mornings with my coffee, oatmeal and favorite shows

3) when my hair turns out just right

4) when The Charles makes his really confused face with his head titled to the side (so funny and cute)

5) walking down the ailes of the grocery store (i like food)

6) not having to say my order at y the local Chinese food place (I go there so much they just know it)

That was fun :)

Now in the words of Iva...for more tagging excitement I am going to call to the floor:

Dollface

Olive Oyl

OceanDreams

allibounds

Hols

Have fun :)

My First Tag...

So as I am still getting the hang of this blog business I was so excited to see that I received my first tag from one of my besties in cali :) Now I am not as much into making lists as she is (unless it has to go with food and then I am a total list maker..weird) but for her I will give it a go!

Here goes my first attempt...

Eight things I am looking forward to....
1. Warm weather (but I could do without the Humidity).
2. Having my wonderful and loving husband back and completely to myself (a month away is way to long)!
3. Going to see friends and family in California and getting to stay long enough to really enjoy it!
4. The wonderful "Magical Neighborhood" dinners that we better have while we are in Cali (minus a few on Vacation...sadness)
5. Many trips to Costal Flats for yummy bread pudding and getting to hang with Reno fam
6. Hopefully getting some fruit and veggies from my mini garden (although I think I killed them before I got to plant the..oops)!
7. Getting my store up and running on etsy.com
8. Watermelon and White peaches...need i say more :)

Eight Things I did yesterday...
1. Hung out with my Best friend until I had to take her to the airport
2. spoke with the hubby through the amazing workings of gmail and voice chat (who knew?)
3. took the charles for a walk (he is much more well behaved the more active I keep him)
4. Yelled at the charles for digging a huge hole in the backyard (never mind #3)
5. Watched the new Here Comes the Newlyweds show with beth and laughed till a little bit of pee came out (go friends)!
6. Ate too much ice cream just cause i was bored (not a good habit to start)!
7. texted with the sis about three old and cute ladies in the airport (haha)
8. freakout about the prospect of substitute teaching when I don't feel like I know what i'm doing (I like to have a plan)...thanks mom for helping me calm down and come back to reality!

Eight Things I wish I could do....
1. Figure out how to get paid to go to school (I really love school)
2. Be more easy-going and not freakout over every little thing..allow God to have complete control and be okay with that (I'm working at it) :)
3. have my own successful on-line business and be able to do all the wifey stuff
4. go to culinary school, fashion school, and get masters just because I want to
5. not be afraid to get involved and make friends at every new place we go
6. relish the good times and remember what amazing friends, family and God I have (especially in the hard times)...live in the present!
7. be a guest on a food network show and get to see behind the scenes (i want to taste the food they actually make)!
8. live in the summer and sun all year round

Eight shows I watch.....
First I want to stay that I watch way too much t.v. (thanks to dvr) and it is hard to narrow it down to 8 but i will try :)
1. America's Next Top Model and Make Me a supermodel
2. Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill
3. Basically any reality show (ummm so excited for So You think You Can Dance)
4. The Bachelorette, The Bachelor
5. The Hills
6. Greys Anatomy and Private Practice (they are linked so I can put them together)
7. Project Runway and now The Fashion Show
8. Anything from the Food Network

Now it's time to tag Eight more....

1. Beth
2. Hols
3. Iva
4. Lil Miss Tabs
5. allibounds
6. A Sweetheart and A Soldier
7. Married to the Military
8. sensibly sassy

Have fun!

"Try-em out Tuesday"

Okay everyone...I'm starting something new!!

It's called try-em out Tuesday...In an effort to save us all from the continuous callings of the cosmetics companies that are always coming out with new products that will "change our lives as we know it" at a fairly decent price. For instance, have you ever stood in the cosmetics section of Target trying to pick out mascara and wondering what does a better job..cover girl...maybelline...loreal..ultra volume....lenthening...extension..etc. Well wonder no more! I have decided to donate my body and my pocket book to the science of discovery :) The gist is that every Tuesday I am going to try out different products ..BUT I NEED IDEAS PEOPLE! Believe me..i have plenty of my own and I love the fact that this gives me an excuse to try them ...buy hey it's not all about me! I want to know what You all are interested in? What have you been dying to try but have not had the courage/drive to fork out the cash just to be disappointed with one more product that is no different from the other 20 million you already own.

On that note...

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE JUST COSMETICS...i am willing to try anything from lotions, make-up, undergarments, to diet food (I think I have already tired most of that though), recipes, the ideas are endless!!

I will document with my observations/experiences with these try-outs as well as pictures to back me up!

Rules:

1. anything goes but it has to be something that will provide instant feedback opportunity...it can't be something that will take months/weeks to show any sort of results.
*unless there is something everyone is dying to try and we might be able to make an exception!

2. I'm not rolling in the dough....so please...inexpensive is key!

3. have fun..this is meant to help us all out!

I will be starting this Tuesday June 2nd. So please provide your suggestions in the comment section!

like i said I have a lot of ideas but the main purpose is to help out all of you ...SO GIVE ME YOUR CURIOSITY!

A Weekend of Rediscovering...

It is crazy how you can be unconsciously aware of personality traits in yourself and flat out ignore them in an effort to make them go away...never really works huh?
For a while now I have been slowly trying to accept the fact that maybe..just maybe...i am not as extroverted as I claim/believe/want to be. Don't get me wrong...I love being around people, having fun, getting to talk to new people, and gaining good friends. I think that part that I don't necessarily like is the unknown which is always involved when dealing with other people outside of yourself.
For me it is so much easier to withdraw into my own little world (I still socialize on the acquaintance level) but I make excuses and tend to hold back when I am thrown in situations out of my comfort area. I get so wrapped up in forcing my own perceptions of myself on how I think other people are perceiving me, that I totally discount the reality and choose to voluntarily live in my own little world (with my own self-condemning thoughts) in an effort to avoid the unknown and remain comfortable. The problem is, that I am not a very nice person to myself most of the time so these hang-out times are not the most uplifting!!
However....I have learned that If I allow myself even one night out with the unknown (meaning new friends or friends I haven't seen in a while) man oh man does everything change!

This was one of those weekends.

With Josh being gone (and us not living near family and friends) I have found my own little bubble to be my main source of interaction these last few weeks (besides wonderful phone calls..but a person cannot live off the phone alone)!

This weekend by allowing myself to break away from myself I rediscovered...

The joy of my amazing in-laws..

The acceptance and love of the friendships God has provided me here..

The fact that spending quality time with friends and family when I are so tired and just want to sleep with actually energize me instead of making me more tired..

The unique ways that God chooses to reveal things to me..

The fact that I am a better wife and more considerate to my amazing husband..

and that when I allow myself to depart from the island of Ashley, how much i want to continue living on the main land.

Even though I miss Josh terribly, I had such an amazing weekend of good family, friends, conversation and just overall FUN!!

Seperation Anxiety

So I have decided that The Charles is suffering from a serious case of separation anxiety! He has always been a very social dog and has had a hard time when we leave him for vacations or other misc. situations, but I thought that he would be okay as long as one of us is home with him...I guess I was wrong (or maybe I am just the wrong person)! Ever since Josh left for his trip charlie has been having a really hard time! It has seemed to go in phases: 1) whine all the time (especially when they play the national anthem on base); 2) follow me around everywhere (even more than normal) oh and refuse to listen to me when I tell him to get down from the furniture; 3) trying to pull me everywhere when I take him for walks (he weighs almost as much as me and those training collars don't work very well when you don't have the strength to make it phase him); 4) wake me up between the hours of 1am and 3am ready to get up and going for the day and 5) refuse to eat and then throw up all the time (that was the one that has really got me worried). He seems to be doing a little better today...yay! OMG when did this dog seriously turn into a child!!! Oh well a least he is good training for us (and no we are not pregnant yet)! Hopefully he will adjust soon, but we are both ready for the hubby/dog dad to get back!

Ursula..A car after my own heart :)

So I will first preface this with the fact that it has been raining for about nine days straight (with a few hour breaks here and there) and I don't like the rain! I actually get really down when it is raining! I have been having a really hard time at work and yesterday as I got up I can't tell you how excited I was that it was Friday!! That coupled with sun for the first time is who knows how long...well this is going to be a good day :) Ursula (my car) and I have been having some conflicts lately, she doesn't like it when the weather is always changing..it makes her sluggish and her tires have to be filled with air (and it always happens when I don't have time to deal with it)! Yesterday as we started our hour treck to work the sun was shining, the weather was warm, and boy did she have some "pep in her step"! I had to watch myself as I would look down several times and be like "whoa, I didn't know I was going that fast!" All I have to say is that she has now proved that, just like her mom, she is a cali girl and loves the warm weather!! Come on New Jersey...let's quit this whole rain business (I think we have met your quota for the year)!

*for those of you who wonder why my car is named Ursula here's the back story. before Ursula I had a white toyota carolla named pheobe (i am totally obsessed with Friends). she was such a good car and I loved her...but when i got married I sold her to my sis (and oh how i missed her so). last year we got a new toyota carolla in black and decided to name her Ursula (because she is black and Ursula is Pheobe's evil twin). We had to stick with tradition!

*sorry the camera is with the hubby right now is spain so I can't post any pics!

How to Restyle a T-Shirt into a Ruffly Cardigan - CraftStylish

How to Restyle a T-Shirt into a Ruffly Cardigan - CraftStylish

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A Day of Mini Freakouts

Let's just say first off that this day has been anything but boring! Now I know in normal circumstances the experiences of the day would not have been too big of a deal. However, when the hubby is away and out of calling reach I tend to freakout over the littlest things.

Also, those of you who know me or birthed me know that I am a worry wort and tend to get anxious really easily. So here goes the day....

What was promised to be a sunny and slightly warm day started out a little overcast. I however was not going to let my plans for the day be affected by the not as nice weather! For my first weekend alone I planned to head to my favorite breakfast spot (Corner Bakery..ummm) with a arm full of books and time to relax and experience good food and words from/about my Heavenly Father. When I got in the car however I remembered that Ursula (my car) had a leaky foot and the low tire pressure light was on. I had been neglecting it for many days and I knew with about an hour drive head of me (I know that sounds long but when you live out here nothing is really "close") I knew I needed to address this before I left. I headed over to the gas station frantically trying to remember my husbands instructions on how to put air in the tires, which is something I had never done before (I know..spoiled). I checked the leaky tire and tried to put air in it as well as the other tires but the light still was not going off and then the rain started. I was not about to stay out in the rain so I decided I had given it my best shot and I would try it again later.

As I started driving though I experienced freakout numero uno...did I put too much air in the tires??? am I going to get a flat while i'm out??? Is my tire going to burst???? who would i call to save me???!!! Now normally this would cause me to just turn around but I was on a mission for good food, God fellowship, and possibly good shopping (the malls next door). As I drove a little longer the light when off and I could relax again :)

I made it to the restaurant fine and enjoyed a nice (but late) breakfast and reading. Everything was going well and I decided to head to the mall before it got to be too late! The sky had cleared and the day was turning out gorgeous.

I had a great time of leisurely shopping (which I try not to do too much when Josh is with me) and was really enjoying myself. We had gotten a cash back gift card in the mail from Verizon so I was using that to fund my shopping excursion! However, when I reached my last shop I had already spent the last of the card and as I went to pay for the item with my debit card mini freakout dos started! Where was my card???? I had used it at corner bakery so I knew I had brought it with me. As soon as I left the store I searched my bag (which is very big, full of crap, and always hard to navigate), I went through my wallet like five times, I searched my pockets (I have this habit of sticking my cards in my pockets and then forgetting where I put them) but no luck!

I frantically raced back to the car and searched all the crevices there. then i headed back to the restaurant certain that I must have left it there! Again...no luck! I went back to Nordstroms and asked them if they had found it...no luck! I finally gave in and admitted that the only option left was to call and have the card cancelled. I was fine with that but also a little worried that 1. it would mess up josh since he is overseas and has his card with him (however they said it wouldn't affect him) and 2. that since he was gone I would have no way of getting cash until the new card arrived. however, after working in a debit card theft area of a bank before I knew those little inconveniences would be nothing compared to someone getting a hold of my account!

I arrived home still all in one piece (and with some cute new clothes) and realized that I am actually getting better at handling this little freakouts when the hubby leaves. Also, it is always fun to be greeted by a big wet tongue and floppy tail when I arrive home from a stressful and exciting day! The Charles and I went for a walk and everything was better :)