New Years time and a slightly new me....
Bucket lists and weight loss goals seemed to fill my head throughout the 2010 year.
Well, and my husband was deployed again. A blessing and a curse.
I can't help but reiminise about this time last year when I had just started going to the gym and beginning my journey to transformation.
I remember not only looking and posting my measurements from the personal trainer, but just staring at them wondering how I was goingto do this.
Whatever the plan was, I needed to make sure that not only the weight got off, but stayed off.
I wanted to do it so bad. I NEEDED too. I was never so miserable in my life and for absolutely no reason at all. Something had to change and this was it.
Well, I am proud to say that here we are a year later and I'm 30 pounds lighter.
At the beginning of this journey my goal was to get to back to my wedding weight which was 120-125.
Half way through I convinced when I hit a hard plateau I told myself that I am older now and that maybe that goal was unrealistic and that I should be happy with what I had accomplished.
I am so glad I didn't give up and I'm still not ready to give up.
I have a solid 6-12 pounds to go and I can't wait to lose it.
I don't have my complete plan put together yet, but all I know is I can do it and it brings a smile to my face contimplating the challenge.
John has been deployed 9 months at the beginning of the new year. There are days where I swear it seemed it was the longest time ever, and then there are times where it seems to have flown by. I don't know if he can say the same, but this has been the easiest deployment so far....granted this is only my second, but still.
Having John home for mid tour reminded me of what an awesome time I have to look forward to when he is home.
We have both changed in mulitple ways, but I can't wait til he gets home and we get to figure it all out together again. Remember when you first got married and moved into your new place and got to find out all those quirks and kinks that you never really knew about that person til you were married?? Yeah, we get to do that on average every other year. Some people might not enjoy it as much as I do. But with time we ALL change and this reintigration time where we learn each other and our habits all over again, is fun for me.
This time it will be a bit of a challenge though. I have some new quirks and kinks, but most importantly I developed a new lifestyle. The ultimate challenge will be to stick to my new lifestyle once he's home!
So John re-enlisted and is slightly changing his MOS. He will return from Iraq and leave three months later for K9 school in Texas. With his re-up he not only got to go K9 like he was wanting but most likely we will be staying at Bragg for a couple more years.
Opposed to this time a while ago, I was thrilled about this.
I have a job that I wouldn't trade for anything.
I am finally LIVING here. I finally have come to a place where I am happy and so blessed to be without want for really anything.
I know John's new advance in his career will bring on it's new challenges, but I am open to them and feel like through my experiences so far, I can handle them.
So, here I am half an hour from the new year and I don't have any cool resolutions or anything.
But for once since I moved here I feel happy and extremely optimistic. Can't ask for more than that. :)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Marriage...it's what brings us together!
Cliche I know, but this has really been bothering me lately.
It seems recently that the concept/practice of marriage is losing it's meaning.
It's losing it's happiness and it's necessity to bring man in general a bounty of happiness and completeness.
Between articles showing that my generation doesn't view marriage as important-becoming obsolete.....
Or hearing of more people that consider marriage a tax break or "just paperwork"......
Or those who abuse their role in their marriage to feed their insecurities at the expense of others...
I could go on, but all this just feeds fuel to my fire....
Yesterday the dreaded "horrible" news arose yet again, some more celebrity couples are breaking up.
This time, as sad as this sounds, these highlighted couples made me sad in their separation...
1. Michael C. Hall & Jennifer Carpenter (was kind of a weird marriage to begin with, but getting a divorce after surviving cancer just sucks, plus they work together on "Dexter"..........they better keep the show going regardless!)
2. GQ Babe of the Year, Scarlett Johannson, and Sexiest Man Alive, Ryan Reynolds...(may their current titles prove what a studly couple they would have been if still together!).
One of the reasons couple #2 gave for their split is that they were so involved in their work that they never saw each other and they drifted apart. Um, hello? I am sorry, but when you are a military wife with a deployed spouse and anyone talks to you about being apart from their spouse......believe you me, I'm not listening.....or sympathizing for that matter.
Anyways, here I am the day after this dreaded "horrible" news on my way to work listening to the radio that I listen to every morning.
Both of the DJ's on this station have been married multiple times and while the male is yet again, remarried for the second time, the other, the female, has not remarried after divorce number two.
The female DJ made this comment today on their morning show while discussing these celebrity splits, "You know, honestly, what's the point anyways? What is so great about getting married versus dating that we are all missing? Maybe Brad and Angelina have it right, maybe we aren't meant to complicate things by paper or by formalities. You know what? Don't get married, if your boat floats by going to the theater every friday night for date night then going home and sleeping together afterwards, then I say more power to you."
This statement blew me away.
I sat there in awe at the stop light that there really are people out there that have such a negative opinion about marriage. I found myself for the first time EVER wanting to call in to the radio and tell them they are wrong. They made it just sound so cheap to me....
I don't know about the rest of you married folk, but I think marriage is fun!
The fact that I can be at whatever my worst place is for my life the one thing I DON'T worry about, is if John will still be there or not.
Maybe that's why the military life works for me so well. I can go through a year long deployment, see my husband two weeks out of the year, and not worry for a single moment if John is cheating on me, or spending money unwisely, or just basically doing things that we don't "believe" in.
Even more lucky for me, this mindset is mutual.
We have a deployment understanding when it comes to our communication.
We talk once-ish a week, usually Saturdays, unless there is some type of emergency prompting more otherwise. John's higher ups have pulled him aside asking him if we are having marital problems because we don't talk EVERY single day like some other families.
Laughable, I know. Esp to those that KNOW us.
But hey, some people work in different ways, so it's fine!!
Keep in mind that John and I started dating in high school, so combining the dating and marriage years, we've been together almost eight years. Out of that eight years we've been apart for at least three years of that.
One year our freshman year of college when I went to OK and he went to UT.
The other's are due to deployments. Lord knows, it's been more than three years cause of military schools and being in the field, but we won't count those....
Through all those trying times, we developed and understanding for how we communicate. It's what works for us and it may not work for everyone but at least we put forth the EFFORT to find something to make it work.
I think that's what a lot of people lack. The work that goes into the marriage is hard. It's tedious, and it's not meant to be easy. Otherwise divorce wouldn't be such a viable option for many.
Another statement I've heard tossed around so much lately is that marriage is just "paperwork."
I am sorry to burst your obviously small world bubble, but it's not.
If you want to get married for the money or the benefits then you don't know what marriage is at all.
Secondly, you don't deserve it.
It's to precious of a thing to be boiled down to signing on the dotted line.
To me it's no different than having children.
Children are just tax write off's, right?
They are just birth certificates....??
No, they are a blessing.
A treasure. Something so fragile and precious you should want to spend every waking moment of your day trying to figure out how to keep it protected and pure.
Why isn't marriage given that same opportunity?!?
Not to shoot my own foot here, but the same could be said about weddings themselves.
Obviously with weddings you are dealing with a sense of tradition, but I think that the purpose for weddings are lost....
Weddings are about the ceremony, not about how many are in attendance, or what kind of cake, or how much the dress cost, where the location is, or (I can't believe I am saying this) how much money you "make".....It's about the fundamental belief system that standing up in front of a group of people professing your commitment before them and God (if you go that route).
I remember meeting with Pastor Ed, the pastor that "married" us, prior to our wedding and he told me something that has stuck with me, "I always believed that if you get married and it ends up not working out...you don't divide things between the two of you, you give the gifts back to the people that bestowed them to you. They aren't yours because you worked for them, they are yours because people supported you two as a couple."
So true!
Now here's a instance where things get a little "hairy."
I've had my minds eye opened so largely lately to the marriages that are out of desperation or convenience.
Like those women that marry because everyone else is doing it, this guy is good enough for me, let's do it!
Or those men that don't want to be a man whore forever, so might as well jump onto one that will not only do what they want, but consider it their "duty" to submit to their husbands and their wishes.
Man, I struggle with these people!
I'm not going to get into the whole submission thing, that's not what this is about.
This is about being PARTNERS.
About being best FRIENDS.
About working together.....
I've never been one for settling for anything, so when I see people in a situation where I think they are settling, I just can't comprehend their mindset or reasoning.
I've tried....I can't do it.
"If it doesn't make sense it's typically not true," in the wise words of Judge Judy. :)
This is one of those things that just doesn't makes sense.
Why not just stay single looking for that "right" person, rather than marry everyone under the moon, fingers crossed that they are "the one?"
Sure would save a lot of heartache and court time. ;)
My partnership with John is far from perfect.
We definitely have our moments.
Because of the military we seem to tend towards more serious in depth moments.
Don't sweat the small stuff. No sugar coating....no beating around the bush...say it how you wish.
However, the one thing that we both mutually respect no matter what, is our marriage.
When push comes to shove, that is the one thing that when everything is boiled down to the bare minimum, will still remain as our top priority.
Regardless of kids, jobs, money, anything...........
You have to "pay" yourself first before you can "pay" for anyone/anything else.
That's our motto.
Maybe Ryan, Scarlett and I should hang out........tee hee heeee.....
Hey Ryan, give me a call....
It seems recently that the concept/practice of marriage is losing it's meaning.
It's losing it's happiness and it's necessity to bring man in general a bounty of happiness and completeness.
Between articles showing that my generation doesn't view marriage as important-becoming obsolete.....
Or hearing of more people that consider marriage a tax break or "just paperwork"......
Or those who abuse their role in their marriage to feed their insecurities at the expense of others...
I could go on, but all this just feeds fuel to my fire....
Yesterday the dreaded "horrible" news arose yet again, some more celebrity couples are breaking up.
This time, as sad as this sounds, these highlighted couples made me sad in their separation...
1. Michael C. Hall & Jennifer Carpenter (was kind of a weird marriage to begin with, but getting a divorce after surviving cancer just sucks, plus they work together on "Dexter"..........they better keep the show going regardless!)
2. GQ Babe of the Year, Scarlett Johannson, and Sexiest Man Alive, Ryan Reynolds...(may their current titles prove what a studly couple they would have been if still together!).
One of the reasons couple #2 gave for their split is that they were so involved in their work that they never saw each other and they drifted apart. Um, hello? I am sorry, but when you are a military wife with a deployed spouse and anyone talks to you about being apart from their spouse......believe you me, I'm not listening.....or sympathizing for that matter.
Anyways, here I am the day after this dreaded "horrible" news on my way to work listening to the radio that I listen to every morning.
Both of the DJ's on this station have been married multiple times and while the male is yet again, remarried for the second time, the other, the female, has not remarried after divorce number two.
The female DJ made this comment today on their morning show while discussing these celebrity splits, "You know, honestly, what's the point anyways? What is so great about getting married versus dating that we are all missing? Maybe Brad and Angelina have it right, maybe we aren't meant to complicate things by paper or by formalities. You know what? Don't get married, if your boat floats by going to the theater every friday night for date night then going home and sleeping together afterwards, then I say more power to you."
This statement blew me away.
I sat there in awe at the stop light that there really are people out there that have such a negative opinion about marriage. I found myself for the first time EVER wanting to call in to the radio and tell them they are wrong. They made it just sound so cheap to me....
I don't know about the rest of you married folk, but I think marriage is fun!
The fact that I can be at whatever my worst place is for my life the one thing I DON'T worry about, is if John will still be there or not.
Maybe that's why the military life works for me so well. I can go through a year long deployment, see my husband two weeks out of the year, and not worry for a single moment if John is cheating on me, or spending money unwisely, or just basically doing things that we don't "believe" in.
Even more lucky for me, this mindset is mutual.
We have a deployment understanding when it comes to our communication.
We talk once-ish a week, usually Saturdays, unless there is some type of emergency prompting more otherwise. John's higher ups have pulled him aside asking him if we are having marital problems because we don't talk EVERY single day like some other families.
Laughable, I know. Esp to those that KNOW us.
But hey, some people work in different ways, so it's fine!!
Keep in mind that John and I started dating in high school, so combining the dating and marriage years, we've been together almost eight years. Out of that eight years we've been apart for at least three years of that.
One year our freshman year of college when I went to OK and he went to UT.
The other's are due to deployments. Lord knows, it's been more than three years cause of military schools and being in the field, but we won't count those....
Through all those trying times, we developed and understanding for how we communicate. It's what works for us and it may not work for everyone but at least we put forth the EFFORT to find something to make it work.
I think that's what a lot of people lack. The work that goes into the marriage is hard. It's tedious, and it's not meant to be easy. Otherwise divorce wouldn't be such a viable option for many.
Another statement I've heard tossed around so much lately is that marriage is just "paperwork."
I am sorry to burst your obviously small world bubble, but it's not.
If you want to get married for the money or the benefits then you don't know what marriage is at all.
Secondly, you don't deserve it.
It's to precious of a thing to be boiled down to signing on the dotted line.
To me it's no different than having children.
Children are just tax write off's, right?
They are just birth certificates....??
No, they are a blessing.
A treasure. Something so fragile and precious you should want to spend every waking moment of your day trying to figure out how to keep it protected and pure.
Why isn't marriage given that same opportunity?!?
Not to shoot my own foot here, but the same could be said about weddings themselves.
Obviously with weddings you are dealing with a sense of tradition, but I think that the purpose for weddings are lost....
Weddings are about the ceremony, not about how many are in attendance, or what kind of cake, or how much the dress cost, where the location is, or (I can't believe I am saying this) how much money you "make".....It's about the fundamental belief system that standing up in front of a group of people professing your commitment before them and God (if you go that route).
I remember meeting with Pastor Ed, the pastor that "married" us, prior to our wedding and he told me something that has stuck with me, "I always believed that if you get married and it ends up not working out...you don't divide things between the two of you, you give the gifts back to the people that bestowed them to you. They aren't yours because you worked for them, they are yours because people supported you two as a couple."
So true!
Now here's a instance where things get a little "hairy."
I've had my minds eye opened so largely lately to the marriages that are out of desperation or convenience.
Like those women that marry because everyone else is doing it, this guy is good enough for me, let's do it!
Or those men that don't want to be a man whore forever, so might as well jump onto one that will not only do what they want, but consider it their "duty" to submit to their husbands and their wishes.
Man, I struggle with these people!
I'm not going to get into the whole submission thing, that's not what this is about.
This is about being PARTNERS.
About being best FRIENDS.
About working together.....
I've never been one for settling for anything, so when I see people in a situation where I think they are settling, I just can't comprehend their mindset or reasoning.
I've tried....I can't do it.
"If it doesn't make sense it's typically not true," in the wise words of Judge Judy. :)
This is one of those things that just doesn't makes sense.
Why not just stay single looking for that "right" person, rather than marry everyone under the moon, fingers crossed that they are "the one?"
Sure would save a lot of heartache and court time. ;)
My partnership with John is far from perfect.
We definitely have our moments.
Because of the military we seem to tend towards more serious in depth moments.
Don't sweat the small stuff. No sugar coating....no beating around the bush...say it how you wish.
However, the one thing that we both mutually respect no matter what, is our marriage.
When push comes to shove, that is the one thing that when everything is boiled down to the bare minimum, will still remain as our top priority.
Regardless of kids, jobs, money, anything...........
You have to "pay" yourself first before you can "pay" for anyone/anything else.
That's our motto.
Maybe Ryan, Scarlett and I should hang out........tee hee heeee.....
Hey Ryan, give me a call....
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Mid Tour Leave
Little did I know how crazy my next Sunday would be from my last blog post!!
On Sunday the 21st of November, I not only turned the horrid age of 26 (LOL!!) but our newest niece was born (Emery Lynn) AND John came home for his mid tour leave!
I couldn't believe it had been eight months.
I sat in the waiting area at the Fayetteville Airport, completely forgetting about my own birthday (maybe subconsciously it was on purpose?), just going over through my mind how long these eight months had been. The minute I saw him step around the corner, my heart leapt with joy. THIS is what I had been waiting for. THIS moment, was what made those eight long months worth it.
All those wives out there that whine and pine about "I've never been alone from my husband for longer than a DAY, I'm so lonely...."
Yeah, they can outright suck it.
I mean that too. With love and a smile, of course. :)
According to John, I talked his ear off the first couple hours.
I don't remember it being that way, but it's all good.
We went home from the airport and reintegrating him to the animals was hilarious.
Jax was the first to see him and he just puffed up his tail and ran away.
Oddly enough Bella walked right up to him and nose kissed him, it was precious. :)
I had put Hurley outside so he wouldn't go psycho when John walked in and, well, John just got smothered in puppy hugs and kisses. It was PRECIOUS.
The first two days John and I just hung out and got to talk a lot of things over. He is needing to re-enlist before he comes home from this deployment and we are weighing several options in which route to go. Thanks to having a democratic President, money slowly trickles away from military to more socialistic things (just calling it how I see it!).....aka: priorities change.
Amidst all these economic hard times people are going through, I don't think people understand what the refocus of the war/or lack there of is going to do to our economy as well. There's civilian unemployment which is about to be bombarded by military unemployment as the military starts kicking people out who are not assets.
It's already started and people are so glib to not notice or ponder all this in the grand scheme of things. Government layoffs if you really look at it.
Anyways, off my soap box (for now!).......
Luckily for us, John is an NCO and has options and we are just weighing them out. We both know some changes are ahead and we aren't sure which one will hit us first, but at least we know they are coming!
The day before Thanksgiving John and I flew to Colorado to spend the holiday's with our families. It was so great to see everyone!
We had Thanksgiving dinner that night with my family and then a Thanksgiving day brunch with them as well. John and I then travelled to his brother's house where they were hosting Thanksgiving Day dinner, Christian style...meaning....the most organized pandemonium you will ever see. ;)
Met my BEAUTIFUL newest niece and had the joyous job of keeping her AWAKE. She tends to be a "sleep all day stay up all night" baby of which her parents are exactly fans, so I got the mean aunt job of keeping her awake. It was awesome. Of course her four year old sister was being a lil pill cause all the attention was on her new sis. So not only did Uncle John feel the need to spoil her (cough cough, who gets a four year old a digital camera? We do, apparently) and also torture her. Poor thing just didn't know what to do with all these people in the house and most of them just wanted to see her new sister. :( But she survived.
We all survived, barely.
John's dad came into town with his new wife and daughters (John's half sister's I guess!) to meet John. John THE only one who hadn't met them so far and they are getting stationed to Germany here in the next couple months, so they made the trip to come see him.
On the infamous Black Friday, John and I went out to lunch with our high school friends, Scott & Katie. They are so awesome. They are the type of friends that you can not feel obligated to call ALL the time about everything, but when you finally get to talk or hang out, it's as if you never left. It rocks.
Well, we persuaded Scott to go to Best Buy with us to educate us on cameras (my birthday present from John). Well of course I got distracted by the Mac area and before I knew it we were at a Mac store buying one. :)
It was glorious. Mac-a-licious.
Yup. I said it.
As a matter of fact, I am writing this blog post on it. :)
We bought it as an investment, to be 100% honest.
We are compromising technically.
We have been talking about starting a family soon, but haven't been able to agree on me staying home or not. I don't want too, he wants me too.
SOOO, buying a iMac (the CS5 is on it's way for Christmas!!!) was a way for me to hopefully continue my graphic design work from home. If and when that time comes!!! So yeah...it's justified...
So what if right now I am working more on my iTunes??
Priorities for the time being. :)
It sure makes Skyping with John fun! I feel like I am talking to a movie theater screen!
On Saturday until Monday, John and I left the Springs for some alone time in Breckenridge. We went to the awesome Great Divide Lodge (we went there after our wedding) and did some skiing. Sadly our camera died while on the run, so no pics. :( We rocked it though.
John fell twice.
I didn't fall even once....it was great! All the Thanksgiving crowd was gone, and at times had the run completely to ourselves. PERFECT.
The last couple days in CO we just made the rounds seeing people, getting an overload of overdue Chipotle for every other meal, and just having a great time.
Even made it out to Garden of the Gods real quick, just for memory's sake.
Last but not least, gotta see my girl Kristen. :) Woop woop!!
We were so glad to get home though!
We got back on Wednesday night and I had taken off the rest of the week from work, so we just had FUN.
Went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. Good times.
John did some yard work and shmoozed with the neighbor that 's been awesomely mowing our lawn while he's been gone. :)
I made John some of my new "healthy" meals and either he lied straight to my face or he liked them a lot more than he thought he would. :)
I went back to work on Monday and had a half day Tuesday to take John to the airport to go back to Iraq. :( Very bittersweet.
You never really know what to say in those final moments before they walk away. We have this thing where I don't go into the airport with him, it's a drive and drop off kinda thing. But it was all good. Only a couple more months to go and he'll be home for good for a while. There's definitely a silver lining.
The downside is the next day I spent good money getting my mouth tortured by the dentist. While mistakingly scheduling this procedure for the beginning of the day instead of end, I was on my way to work, drooling, half my face numb......these are the moments it sucks to be alone.
Luckily Steph and lil man, Lucas brought me over Panera soup that night so I could eat SOMETHIING. :)
So here I am, two weeks later, with a pile of his laundry and some awesome pictures to remind me he was here. It's like it was a two week coma/dream, and when I woke up it was as if he was never here. That sucks.
But I have these special memories and moments stored in my thoughts and my heart. At times they seem a figment of the imagination, but I remember how real they were...regardless of how scared the animals were of it! ;)
Now on to Christmas adventures.....:)
On Sunday the 21st of November, I not only turned the horrid age of 26 (LOL!!) but our newest niece was born (Emery Lynn) AND John came home for his mid tour leave!
I couldn't believe it had been eight months.
I sat in the waiting area at the Fayetteville Airport, completely forgetting about my own birthday (maybe subconsciously it was on purpose?), just going over through my mind how long these eight months had been. The minute I saw him step around the corner, my heart leapt with joy. THIS is what I had been waiting for. THIS moment, was what made those eight long months worth it.
All those wives out there that whine and pine about "I've never been alone from my husband for longer than a DAY, I'm so lonely...."
Yeah, they can outright suck it.
I mean that too. With love and a smile, of course. :)
According to John, I talked his ear off the first couple hours.
I don't remember it being that way, but it's all good.
We went home from the airport and reintegrating him to the animals was hilarious.
Jax was the first to see him and he just puffed up his tail and ran away.
Oddly enough Bella walked right up to him and nose kissed him, it was precious. :)
I had put Hurley outside so he wouldn't go psycho when John walked in and, well, John just got smothered in puppy hugs and kisses. It was PRECIOUS.
Amidst all these economic hard times people are going through, I don't think people understand what the refocus of the war/or lack there of is going to do to our economy as well. There's civilian unemployment which is about to be bombarded by military unemployment as the military starts kicking people out who are not assets.
It's already started and people are so glib to not notice or ponder all this in the grand scheme of things. Government layoffs if you really look at it.
Anyways, off my soap box (for now!).......
Luckily for us, John is an NCO and has options and we are just weighing them out. We both know some changes are ahead and we aren't sure which one will hit us first, but at least we know they are coming!
The day before Thanksgiving John and I flew to Colorado to spend the holiday's with our families. It was so great to see everyone!
We had Thanksgiving dinner that night with my family and then a Thanksgiving day brunch with them as well. John and I then travelled to his brother's house where they were hosting Thanksgiving Day dinner, Christian style...meaning....the most organized pandemonium you will ever see. ;)
 |
| Emery Lynn Christian-4 days old! |
We all survived, barely.
John's dad came into town with his new wife and daughters (John's half sister's I guess!) to meet John. John THE only one who hadn't met them so far and they are getting stationed to Germany here in the next couple months, so they made the trip to come see him.
On the infamous Black Friday, John and I went out to lunch with our high school friends, Scott & Katie. They are so awesome. They are the type of friends that you can not feel obligated to call ALL the time about everything, but when you finally get to talk or hang out, it's as if you never left. It rocks.
Well, we persuaded Scott to go to Best Buy with us to educate us on cameras (my birthday present from John). Well of course I got distracted by the Mac area and before I knew it we were at a Mac store buying one. :)
It was glorious. Mac-a-licious.
Yup. I said it.
As a matter of fact, I am writing this blog post on it. :)
We bought it as an investment, to be 100% honest.
We are compromising technically.
We have been talking about starting a family soon, but haven't been able to agree on me staying home or not. I don't want too, he wants me too.
SOOO, buying a iMac (the CS5 is on it's way for Christmas!!!) was a way for me to hopefully continue my graphic design work from home. If and when that time comes!!! So yeah...it's justified...
So what if right now I am working more on my iTunes??
Priorities for the time being. :)
It sure makes Skyping with John fun! I feel like I am talking to a movie theater screen!
On Saturday until Monday, John and I left the Springs for some alone time in Breckenridge. We went to the awesome Great Divide Lodge (we went there after our wedding) and did some skiing. Sadly our camera died while on the run, so no pics. :( We rocked it though.
John fell twice.
I didn't fall even once....it was great! All the Thanksgiving crowd was gone, and at times had the run completely to ourselves. PERFECT.The last couple days in CO we just made the rounds seeing people, getting an overload of overdue Chipotle for every other meal, and just having a great time.
Even made it out to Garden of the Gods real quick, just for memory's sake.
Last but not least, gotta see my girl Kristen. :) Woop woop!!
We were so glad to get home though!
We got back on Wednesday night and I had taken off the rest of the week from work, so we just had FUN.
Went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. Good times.
John did some yard work and shmoozed with the neighbor that 's been awesomely mowing our lawn while he's been gone. :)
I made John some of my new "healthy" meals and either he lied straight to my face or he liked them a lot more than he thought he would. :)
I went back to work on Monday and had a half day Tuesday to take John to the airport to go back to Iraq. :( Very bittersweet.
You never really know what to say in those final moments before they walk away. We have this thing where I don't go into the airport with him, it's a drive and drop off kinda thing. But it was all good. Only a couple more months to go and he'll be home for good for a while. There's definitely a silver lining.
The downside is the next day I spent good money getting my mouth tortured by the dentist. While mistakingly scheduling this procedure for the beginning of the day instead of end, I was on my way to work, drooling, half my face numb......these are the moments it sucks to be alone.
Luckily Steph and lil man, Lucas brought me over Panera soup that night so I could eat SOMETHIING. :)
So here I am, two weeks later, with a pile of his laundry and some awesome pictures to remind me he was here. It's like it was a two week coma/dream, and when I woke up it was as if he was never here. That sucks.
But I have these special memories and moments stored in my thoughts and my heart. At times they seem a figment of the imagination, but I remember how real they were...regardless of how scared the animals were of it! ;)
Now on to Christmas adventures.....:)
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