Oh, The Places I Will Go....

2011 edition starts in a mere two weeks!

On a "last minute" whim, I decided to go to Florida for my spring break. I'm headed down to Orlando to spend four days with Ross and two additional days with my in-laws. Not knowing when I would see Ross again was just TOO much. I'm really looking forward to seeing him... and 80+ degree weather!!!

My other up coming adventure will take me back to South Carolina this summer. I'm looking forward to a week in the sun and sand with my Aunt and Uncle. I truly am blessed!!!

I'll update with Florida pictures once I get back, if not before!!! Until then, I'm going to enjoy the warmer weather we are finally getting here!!!

If it's not one thing, it's another...

That's the way I have felt lately. First I got sick, I'm talking really sick. I don't remember the last time I was so sick for so long. Then, because of being sick and coughing/sneezing/blowing all the time, my back started bothering me. Four weeks later and it's still bothering me. I went to the chiropractor on Tuesday and feel slightly better, but not nearly 100%. Bummer.

On top of that, Ross didn't get to come home at the end of February as originally planned. Unfortunately, his military orders changed and he ended up going straight to Florida. - If I have learned one thing during this deployment it's that the only certainty about military life is that the plan will change. He's now in Florida in the middle of NOWHERE! I had planned on going down there for spring break, but after figuring out that the closest hotel is 30ish miles away and Ross works long days, we decided with fligt, hotel costs, food, etc. it would be a lot to spend for me to essentially spend a week by myself. Again... bummer. I know it is out of his control, but for the first time since he left, I don't know when I will get to see him again. Talk about a concept hard to grasp! Thankfully we get to talk daily!

Next comes school... We had an impromptu staff meeting this week where our principal told us the corporation has to cut $2 million dollars out of the budget. Our corporation currently has 1,000 less students than we had 15 years ago, but we're still operating the same number of buildings that we were 15 years ago. We're all smart enough to figure out what that means.... a building will close. More exactly, an ELEMENTARY building will close. No official decision has been made but speculation is that it will be our building for various reasons. Great... where will I go? What will I do? Another huge bummer.

Then comes taxes.... Last year we had to pay Uncle Sam quite a large chunck of money. I dropped off our tax stuff yesterday and looks like again, we'll owe Uncle Sam. Bummer.

I have been trying so hard to stay positive, but sometimes it feels like everything around me is pushing me down (and kicking me while I'm there). I know, and believe, God will never give me anything I cannot handle, but sometimes I sure wish He didn't trust me so much.

Thankfully, I now have a summer trip to look forward to! Here's to things looking up!

LONG overdue....

I'm finally updating the blog from Thanksgiving and Christmas! It has been a whirwind couple months.

For Thanksgiving, Bill, Ryan, and I loaded into the Hoppus van after school and drove the 14+ hours through the night down to Mississippi. Marti left the morning before we did, as Southwest Allen County did not have school that day.

It was a long, but smooth drive through the night and arrived Thanksgiving Day around 7am. I went up to Ross and my hotel room and took a much needed nap while Ross drive his dad and brother over to where they were staying.

We spent Thursday through Sunday (early morning) in Mississippi with Ross. It was a nice visit. Much colder than when I was there in October, but still a great time. We did manage to get to the beach for a walk Thansgiving afternoon. That was nice! Not a usualy Thanksgiving Day activity!

Below are some pictures from Thanksgiving weekend!

One of the C130 Hurricand Hunters stationed at Keesler AFB -- a HUGE plane!


This is where Ross lives!


Just hanging out at Biloxi Beach.


The BEST BBQ place E.V.E.R!!!!


Leaving our mark at The Shed. -- There is writing ALL over the walls!


Having fun at Stennis Space Center!





Five weeks after I was in Mississippi visiting Ross, he was able to come home for 12 days! I was a fantastic 12 days! Fenway was so excited to have him home! I'll try to post the video of Fenway's greeting later.

While Ross was here, we didn't spend a lot of time at home. There were so many people who wanted to see Ross and whom Ross wanted to see. We spent a lot of time with family and several days with friends. We took three days and went to the Detroit area to visit Ross's college friends. That was a lot of fun!

Ross gets to come back home at the end of February. Hopefully this tine we will be less busy!

More to come...

Two days in....

The rundown...
I'm trying to start this new year with a new kick. I have been unhappy with myself for a while and decided now is the time. I have had too many days of "I'll start tomorrow."

So that brings me to today... two days into this (I have to start somewhere)...
So far I'm feeling great! My motivation to eat well is still high and I went running last night for the first time in WAY too long. I can definitely tell my stamina is gone, but hopefully before long I will be back up to the 4-ish miles I was doing this summer. My long term running goal, I would say, is to be able to run a 5K in under 30 minutes. No date set or even in sight yet, but it's a long term goal for myself.

My biggest goal is feeling better about the way I look before my friend, Brooke's wedding in October. This past summer a group of friends and I went and spent a day on Lake James. My biggest memory of that day is being extremely self conscious about the way I look. I definitely do not want to relive that experience when we are supposed to be having a great time in Mexico! My mind could easily tell me, "you don't have to start working out now, October is a long ways off." And that's true, but I know myself well enough to know if I do not get into a groove now, I will continue my past pattern of "I'll start tomorrow," and then tomorrow rarely comes. I have no excuse for not working out. I'm dressed for it daily when I go to school! All I need to do is alter my route home! How hard is that?!?!?!

So... for tonight...
My plan is to go running right away after school. Then go home, possible update the blog from Thanksgiving and Christmas (I know, I know... LONG overdue!) and meet the crew at B Dubs where my dinner will be a nice salad and a tall glass of water.

For the first time in a long time, I am not weighing myself daily. Instead, I am waiting until Monday evening to assess the progress.

Here's to a happier me!!!!!

Pucker Up!

Last week was United Way week at Horace Mann Elementary. Our principal designated the counselor and related arts teachers to be in charge of the fundraiser. We wanted a fun and creative way to get the kids to bring in money. Our minds quickly decided that a contest was our best bet at getting kids to bring in their money. So, next we had to decide what the contest would be. With a little help from our principal, whose words were, "I will kiss a pig before I go in a dunk tank," we decided the person who raised the most money would do just that, kiss a pig.

Daily, we traveled the hallways in the morning going from class to class collecting money in three buckets... one with my picture on it, one with the counselor's picture on it, and one with the Principal's picture on it. And daily we heard several things from the students, "You're going to kiss a pig!!!", "You're my favorite, so I picked you!", and "You're my favorite, I would never pick you to kiss a pig!!"

Finally the day came... with over $130 accumulated in the bucket...


... I kissed the pig!!!

HOWEVER, our staff was "tricky" and added money to the counselor and Principal's buckets to even out the score (and somehow my bucket lost money) at $109 each. The counselor and a stand in for our principal (she was out of the building) were good sports and laid a big wet one on the pig as well. The students really got into it and we had fun encouraging them!

I am so proud of the students and staff at Horace Mann for contributing to such a good cause and sending more that $327 to the United Way!!! Way to go Huskies!!!

Reunited...

... and it feels so good!!!

This past weekend I hopped on a plane and headed to Biloxi, Mississippi. I left Fort Wayne at 6:00 in the morning on Thursday and arrived in Biloxi at 11:00am knowing I would not be able to see Ross until 4:15ish. My thought was that I would head to my hotel, check in, and take a nap. That did not work out very well as I was not able to check in at the hotel until 4. So, there I was, in a town I had never been to with nothing to do. I had a lot of time to kill, so I grabbed some lunch (at perhaps the only Taco Bell that does not have grande soft tacos) and walked around the BX. After walking around for about 15 minutes I asked someone for a suggestion of something to do. Learning that my options were going to a casino or going to the mall, I opted for the mall. Upon arriving at the mall and taking a lap around, I decided that was not much fun either, as I packed just a carry on and did not have space to pack potential purchases. Thank goodness for the beach! I decided my best option for the remainder of the afternoon would be best spent walking the beach and taking pictures. Something I enjoy, but is not necessarily Ross's favorite activity.

I had a great time walking and snapping photos and before I knew it, it was 3:30. So, I headed back to my rental car and made my way back to base. At 4:00 I went and checked into my hotel... I will leave out the details about the hotel room, as it was perhaps the worst hotel room I have ever stayed in (coming equip with a SHARED bathroom). Finally, at 4:15, Ross called. I told him where I was and he met me at the hotel. After 14 weeks I was finally able to hug him!!!

Thursday evening Ross and I went to B Dubs with Newell, Stanko, and Bradford... Ross's usual crew. After B Dubs we went down to the beach with the guys to an old lighthouse and had a few beers. Then it was time to call it a night.

Friday we had breakfast in Ocean Springs, then went bowling. We decided to go bowling for just an hour, thankfully. With just two of us, we managed to play about 4 games, all of which Ross won. After bowling we called the guys and planned on going to The Shed for dinner. Boy were we impressed! This was the best pulled pork I have ever had!!! The building itself it a shack, but the food was fantastic!! After dinner, the guys asked us if we wanted to go bowling with them. Ha! Twice in one day at two different locations! This time, however, I beat all the guys!!

Saturday Ross and I slept in then went to the Beau Revage for breakfast/lunch. Then we walked around the casino for a bit before calling the guys to see what they were up to. That afternoon, Ross, Bradford, and I drove to Gulfport to Jack and Diane's Tattoo Shop. I was the only one of the three of us who followed through and got a tattoo. Saturday night we grabbed a quick dinner at 5 Guys Hamburgers then went to a movie with the guys.

Sunday, we got up early and went to the hotel so I could request an extension on my room. "Unfortunately", the room I had been staying in was to be occupied that night so I would have to stay in a different room. Oh, darn... Before checking into the new room, we went and played Putt-Putt. I beat Ross, fair and square! THANKFULLY, Sunday night I was able to stay in the Tyer House Hotel and had a wonderful room. That afternoon, before Ross had to be back at the squadron, we just hung out at the hotel and watched a movie.... and took a nap.

Monday morning I was up early to get back to the airport and catch my flight home. It was great meeting the guys Ross spends his free time with. I don't worry about the people he selects as friends, as he is a good judge of character, but it does help to meet his friends if for nothing else to have a face to put with the names.

I am looking forward to going back to Mississippi in 33 days and spending Thanksgiving with Ross.

More to come....

Randomness

I have been wanting to do a post like this for a while, just have not gotten around to doing it. Below you will find some pictures I downloaded off of my phone. Some are meaningful, most are just random. Enjoy!!


This is my cousin, Josh and me. As a family, we spent a day at my grandparent's house cleaning outside and inside. Josh and I took on the task of washing the outside of the windows after being voluntold by my Mom (Love you, Mom!!).


I took this one evening while watching tv. Fenway is usually not allowed on the furniture. He got lucky this evening so I snapped a photo and sent it off to Ross.


This flag flies out by the mall. In person, it is HUGE and perhaps the most beautiful flag I have ever seen.


I saw this van at a gas station on my way to school one morning. Who posts a sticker on their car like this?!?!?!


These girls are FANTASTIC! They are my WaWa's!


When I was in South Carolina I got up every morning to walk on the beach. One morning I wrote this, took the picture, and sent it to Ross. Love him!!


BEAN! This is perhaps my favorite little guy of all time! Can't wait to see what the future holds for him as he grows up!


Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my life. Maybe I'll do another post like this sometime.

On the flip side, I leave for Mississippi in 8 days!!