2011

Somehow January has flown by, but really when does time not fly? I've been thinking about some goals [not so much resolutions] for 2011 so I figured I'd throw 'em out there and maybe that will help keep me accountable. I don't usually do this, but lately I have been thinking a lot about how fast my twenties are going and I don't want to look back and think "what did do with that time?". You could say I'm having a little quarter life crisis- I turn 25 in a month from tomorrow eek! Haha. I know, I know that's still very young, but that also means I'm closing in on 30! Anyway here are a few goals for the next year...

1. Run a marathon

I have wanted to run a marathon since my senior year of high school when I ran cross country and my first half. And then I got lazy. I ran on and off through college and the same since. I ran a half in October 2009, but then had surgery again a few months after that. I got back in to working out and running a little and then this fall got mono. What the heck?! So I'm done with the excuses and I'm gonna do it. I think I need to register for a race so I have more motivation ha!

2. Meal plan: this works out great when I actually do it. It saves us money and me a lot time. I work full-time and my commute is at least an hour so when I get home it's nice to know that I already have everything to make dinner. Plus, I don't have the excuse of "I don't feel like cooking I'll just pick something up" which saves us money.

3. Send out birthday cards [on time]: I love sending out cards, but I'm so bad at it! And I've already failed at January, so I need to get in gear for the rest of the year. Vicky [Adventures in Domestication] has the same goal so we can help keep each other on track :)

4. Read more: I love to read, but I never do anymore. I don't really know why- I guess it's easier to veg out watching tv? Also with this, I want to be more diligent in reading my Bible. Currently I am reading Crazy Love - our small group is going through this book and it's really good.

I'm going to read HP7 again first, but I need book suggestions please!

5. Get and stay organized: All of my goals lead to one thing- organization. I need to use my time better in the evenings and on the weekends to get all of this done. Maybe I need a planner? I still have my planner from my senior year of college and sometimes I look at it to remind myself when I think I'm busy, I will probably not have that much on my plate until I have kids haha! I had 5 classes, I was a resident assistant [full-time, all the time with crazy college kids for 3 yrs], I interned/worked for a radio station [office hours plus events at night or on the weekends], I served at a restaurant, and I had a fiancé stationed on the other side of the world [14 hours ahead of my time]. Oh and I started planning our wedding.

Needless to say I think I can handle of all this :) Better get started!

Vacation

Thankfully the 'winter storm' here in Georgia is allowing me to work from home again today so I actually have time to post.

Back in the fall we decided to meet up with some friends over the winter break. These are friends that Mike was stationed with Okinawa and we hadn't seen them in a year or two. One of the couples lives in Arizona and we decided to head there since it would probably be the warmest [compared to Georgia, Ohio, and Albuquerque]. We left two days after Christmas and we spent a week there. Much to our surprise we got about 10 inches of snow dumped on us the 2nd day we were there [3 weeks prior it was in the 70s and 80s]. Joy. Oh well, it was pretty and probably the most snow we'd ever seen. We played in it some and attempted to sled with a card board box haha! Here are a few pics:

Nice view from their driveway

We hung around the house mostly and played games, ate delish food and relaxed. We had plans of camping a few days while we were there but decided we liked the warm house instead. We ventured into town on New Years Eve [they live in a pretty small town]. It was -1 degree. Yeah... We found a bar/saloon and they had a live band so that was pretty fun.

NYE: Mike and I

NYE: Luis, Mike, Keith, Cody and I. [Luis' wife Leah did not venture out with us that night]

The one thing we were all determined to do was go see the Grand Canyon. Leah and I had been before, but we hadn't seen it with snow. So at the end of the week we all piled in a car and made the drive up there. It was less than a 2 hour drive so not bad! We took a ton of pics and it was beautiful with snow. It was still freezing that day, but it didn't stop us from driving to a bunch of different look out points to find amazing views.

The boys. I mean men.

Us. [First time I've ever seen my husband with facial hair haha]

The snow was about a foot deep where we were standing.

Another thing we all wanted to do was go shooting. I am the only was who isn't a Marine so you can understand their love of guns. Leah's dad has quite the arsenal so we were able to borrow a few from him. Mike brought his Glock and Leah has an SKS [? A huge rifle]. In Arizona you can pretty much shoot wherever as long as its federal property, which is apparently almost every where. We drove out of town a few miles and pulled off the road and there were places that were already set up and used for target shooting. Once again it was freezing, but we all had a lot of fun.

We had a great trip even though the weather wasn't what we expected haha. Now we're back in Atlanta and we get hit with more snow/ice... oh well. [I'm ready for spring!]

Long time no post

Worst blogger award goes to me, ha! I read plenty of blogs, but honestly I just haven't had the time to keep up with mine. December was pretty insane between working late most days, our weekends being jam packed, and of course Christmas. I was pretty stressed, but I made sure to enjoy the holidays and every thing we had going on. Monday after Christmas we left to go on vacation [which I'll post about later] and we got back on Tuesday night. I'll probably recap December [mainly for my own memory], our vacation, and my New Years goals - a little late, but better than never.

In the meantime check out Sheila's blog and her giveaway!

Coffeee

Happy Friday! This day could not come quick enough. The past few weeks have been a little crazy at work and traffic has been horrible so I'm excited for a weekend with few plans. My plans do include seeing Harry Potter!! So excited! I wanted to see it last night, but I'm getting to old for midnight showings and we had our Thanksgiving feast with our small group (so fun! but I took zero pics).

I've been wanting a Keurig for well, a long time. It was on my wedding registry, but I didn't get it- not that I can blame anyone since they are quite pricey! So, I stuck with my normal coffee pot, but it's kind of annoying since Mike doesn't drink coffee. Recently, my parents were in LA and their hotel had a one cup brewer that used 'pods' instead of the little cups like Keurig so my mom went on a mission to find one. She found them and bought me one as well!

Wayyy cheaper than a Keurig and the coffee is delish! Thanks Mama! I decided to branch out on my creamer as well and have tried two different ones. The first one I tried was White Chocolate Rasberry...oh my goodness so good! Two of my favorite things added to my coffee? Yes, please!

And this week I'm drinking Gingerbread coffee, delicious as well!

I'm thinking possibly peppermint or eggnog next week? Any suggestions?

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 235th birthday Marines!

And to my favorite Marine...

:)

6 Years...

6 years ago today, Mike and I became "official". I would say started dating but I don't use that because we had a long distance relationship for 4 years and dates were only once or twice a year when he came home on leave.

We met freshman year of high school in band (yep that's right), but obviously didn't "date" until after graduation.

Tonight we are going to our high school's football game with 3 of my best friends (and yes we were all in band together) and our husbands/boyfriends. How appropriate we are going back to the place that started it all :)

So for a little walk down memory lane...

This was prom Jr. year- look how young we are haha!

This was our one year anniversay. He sent 12 dozen roses (yes that's 144 roses!) and Julie and Katie set them up all over the apartment for me before I got home.

The first time he came home from Japan... head been gone 7 months.

Our 2nd Christmas together. He usually came home at Christmas and we would get dressed up and go out for a really fancy dinner.

Christmas 2006 (don't mind my bangs we had been running around outside with my little cousins)

About an hour before we got engaged, at the aquarium in Okinawa!

Christmas 2007- we were engaged this year.

New Years football game, he looks thrilled.

The night before we became Mr. and Mrs. !

September 20, 2008

(I missed posting about our 2 year anniversary because I was sick all weekend. Not fun. )

I can't believe its been 6 years haha I really am starting to feel old. It's been a wild ride and I wouldn' trade it for anything.

I love you, boo :)

GNI

Recently, Sheila [The Adventures of Ordy and Joon] started hosting a Girls Night In a couple of times a month at her place. It's been really fun meeting new girls and getting to spend some time chatting, eating, doing crafts and watching Glee or Dancing with the Stars (never gonna happen with Mike haha). Our first craft was making a wreath with ribbon. I made a festive fall wreath and I love it! Here are some crappy iPhone pics but they'll have to do. Check out Sheila's blog for better pictures of the night and plus she's super crafty and is always posting fun things.

Horrible picture, but I wanted to show Katie's wreath as well because I'm obsessed with that color!