Summertime

Luckily for me, I've actually been busy this summer. I am babysitting for a family of 3, Monday-Friday, and boy do they keep me busy. I mainly watch the 4 year old boy and we've done a lot of exploring! We go to state parks, bike rides, nature walks, and we even hit up the kiddie dinosaur park! They are currently on vacation for a week which means that I get a week off! I wish Jimmy was home so we could enjoy a little more time together. His early departure really upset me and I feel like he's gone all the time. I did the math and realized that in the past 14 months or so...we've only been together for about 4 1/2 of them. Neither one of us had any clue how often this boat goes out to sea when we moved here. I've come to the realization that this is going to be our life for the next four years. Alas I can't imagine my life without him so I'm going to have to just deal with it. I'm not going to pretend that I like it though. I've learned that I need to start doing things to make myself happy and not to rely on Jimmy to do that. School starts in a couple of weeks and I'm really wanting to study/work in France next summer. Jimmy will be gone and I really miss the foreign lifestyle so hopefully we can make that happen. Other than that wedding plans are still going on. I've been working on a few things with that and will have to start crunching some stuff out since we will be Mr. and Mrs. in 3 months. I'm really excited to meet the rest of his family and for the festivities that weekend. I'm also looking forward to the birth of my best friend, and MOH's, son in November. It's a very exciting time for a lot of people right now and I'm glad to be a part of things.

I'll be glad when Jimmy gets home and we can spend some quality time together. We're hoping to get away for a weekend to Maine. I haven't been there since I was little and would love some romantic one on one (sans Floyd and Layla and the Navy) time with my man.

Is it time for them to come home yet??

I feel like I don't update often, but honestly I don't live a very exciting life right now. I think I'm slowly starting to get over the novelty of blog writing. Typical Stephanie...gets really excited about something but loses interest easily. Jimmy has been gone for 3 weeks now and this underway has probably been the worst for us. He had some time off in FL last week and we talked on the phone FOREVER. Seriously, I don't think we ever talked like that when we were dating. We both kicked ourselves for me not flying down to see him. He had all this time off...but of course I got a bunch of teaching days and I'm trying to not spend money between now and the wedding. We have so much going on and money will start flying out of our wallet soon enough. So for now I will have to be content with emails until he comes home. Then it's back to readjusting and the laundry list of things we need to do. I can't wait til this stupid wedding is over and everything with the house is in its place so when he comes home, he's not busy fixing stuff, or we're not busy doing wedding crap. We have our pre cana (pre marital counseling) with a couple from the local Catholic church during July. I guess we sit with them and talk all about our relationship. Haaaa...Jimmy is going to love this. Neither one of us are too keen with chatting about our feelings and problems with strangers, but from what I've heard from everyone who has done it, it's very helpful. So yes, wedding crap aplenty when Jimmy comes home.

As for me, I've been keeping busy working and puttering around the house. I went to Six Flags with some of my friends and had an awesome time. I've also spent some time with my neighbor. She's 38 and lives next door and has a dog as well. We took the dogs on a long walk behind the schools and got sushi one night. It's nice to know that I can count on someone so close in case I need anything. Like today, when Floyd's 100 foot leash snapped and he took off. I had flashbacks of my birthday...searching frantically in the rain...to find him 4 hours later. Her and I headed in opposite directions on the street...and as I came back, ready to get in the car and start the search, there comes my filthy, muddy puppy from the backyard...comes right up to me and lets me put the leash on him. I sure hope he does this from now on. I think since I walk him so much he kinda knows where his home is. Talk about a heart attack though...sheesh.

I'm signing off for the night..busy day buying groceries and baby things! Victoria is pretty sure it's a boy. I'm so excited :) I get to see her and some other lovely bridesmaids this weekend since I'm escaping to NY. Hopefully I'll have some pics too!

Update

So things have been better in the West/Peterson household. Jimmy left a little while ago to go on yet another underway. Whoever said this gets easier with time lies...because it sucks....still. We had such a fantastic time together while he was home. He took a 4 day weekend so we could get some stuff done around the house and just "be" together. We even got to go see a concert! Coldplay, on the lawn, under the stars...I couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening. Of course just when things are going perfectly, God likes to chuck a wrench in there. Jimmy's grandmother passed away and I had to let him know via a Red Cross message. It's times like these that I wish he wasn't in the Navy because he really should be with his family right now. On top of that we're dealing with the rumor mill that comes with being in the military. Rumors in general are never fun to deal with in a relationship...but it's even worse when you can't talk to your significant other right away to fix things. Luckily, we were able to talk briefly when he called home and things are on their way to being resolved. Relationships aren't easy but the Navy definitely makes it more difficult. We'll push on through it though.

Other than that I've been trying to keep myself busy by catching up with friends, doing things around the house, and attempting to exercise. I realized that my wedding is in 5 months and I really need to get a move on. I'm hoping to have some sort of result, even if it's only toning my "lunch lady" arms lol. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying positive :)

Spring Days and Nights

I've been keeping myself relatively busy while Jimmy has been gone on this underway. My parents came up this past weekend and I had a Lia Sophia party. It was the first time that I had guests over to my house so I had to make sure that things were put together. I tore apart most of the boxes in the basement, set up a t.v. viewing area down there, painted and put together the guest room, and cleaned the crap out of the upstairs. I had a great turnout at my party and would like to thank everyone who came! I even mowed the lawn all by myself...and I like it! (I think I do a better job than Jimmy...shh...don't tell) I've had time to go out with friends and want to start planning an actual housewarming party sometime this summer. We have a fire pit out back so I thought it would be fun to have a bbq/bonfire/drinking beer kind of party. I'm not very good at formalized things and this fits Jimmy and I so much better. Now to find a time when he'll be home...

Ooooo Pretty Blog!!

So I went over to Kim's house tonight to get my box for May. Every month has a theme and we do a military wife swap where we send said box to a different person. It's kind of like a present every month! Well Kim had me and it was cooking/baking. I got a cookbook holder so I'm not constantly thumbing through pages while cooking, a HOT apron (I've always wanted one...my inner housewife calls to me), a new cookbook, and little mini herbs in pots!! I'm so excited to cook with my apron on :) So Kim made me dinner and then she put together my new layout on my blog. Seriously...I wish I was that creative. It's fantastic!! So thank you Kim!

On an even better note this underway has been going pretty well. I went and played rock band over at Josh and Eric's apartment (former sailors from the Alex). I had a blast drinking and basically peeing myself because the two of them are hilarious. I started painting the guest room today and hope to finish it tomorrow. It's a super pale blue and will hopefully fit my Cape Cod beach theme.

On the most super note ever I got my acceptance package for Grad School!!!! I'm sooo psyched! I will be attending Central Connecticut State University in the Fall and getting my master's and certification in TESOL. For those that don't know TESOL stands for teaching english to speakers of other languages. Basically all the Asians that come from China to work in the casino need their kids to learn English, so I'd be working in the public schools to teach them English. I'm hoping this certification will get me in to the public school system and I could teach French as well. So yes, while I miss my Jimmy, things have been ok on the home front :)

Peace out Sailor

So I guess it's safe to say that the boys have gone underway again. This past week has been absolutely miserable for Jimmy. He stayed at work on Monday til 5:00 am on Tuesday, came home and I dropped him off at work at 9:00am, he had duty that day, was supposed to leave on Wednesday but something broke, I get a call at 10:00pm to come and get him because the higher ups finally decided to let the boys leave, then I dropped him off at 7:30 this morning and they finally left. Why did he have to be there you ask? Not entirely sure since when he would call me he'd usually say that he was doing nothing but still had to stay. This makes both of us livid. I am fine that he has to go on underways and on 6 month deployments. I understand it. What I don't understand is why they insist on keeping the men til all hours in the night when they are home in port. For Christ's sake, they work their asses off and are away from their families ALL THE TIME. Let them come home and spend time with the people they love once in a while. Fucking ridiculous...

In true "day of Jimmy leaving" fashion....something bad happens. This time, as I'm getting ready to spread the last of the mulch down, my screen door falls off and pulls most of the door frame with it. Fantastic. After crying and kicking things for a minute I call my dad and he tells me what to do. I go to Home Depot (I swear, I am there at minimum 3 times a week) and get some deck screws. I manage to screw the frame in, and put that big ass door back on, all by myself. So screw you screen door!! 

Other than that I am planning on getting as much stuff unpacked, put together, painted, etc around the house before Jimmy gets back. My parents are coming up next weekend so I have to set up the guest room. I'm also having a Lia Sophia (jewelry) party next Saturday night at 6 if anyone would like to come :) So far it's just me and my mom.

To my fellow Alex ladies, hang in there, and damn the man, not your husband.

Update

So I know I'm lazy and I apologize for not updating more often, but I've been busy. The past couple of weeks have consisted of unpacking and doing yard work. I have found that I enjoy being outside and digging up dirt. The previous owners of our house loved plants and even had a garden area set off in the back. It took me two days but I cleared it and started planting. So far I only have lettuce and carrots but plan to add more lettuce and some zucchini. I have also planted rosemary, lavender, basil, chives and parsley along the back row. I have pansies around my mailbox and marigolds around my garden. The weather this past weekend has been fantastic! I went up to NY for my friends Meaghan and Rich's wedding. I've known Rich since I was 12 and Meaghan since I was 15. It's so nice when two of your closest friends marry each other. It took them 6 years to actually get together and I was very honored to be part of their special day. We had so much fun at the wedding and I woke up with a HORRIBLE hangover yesterday...just in time to meet with my florist and priest!! YAY! I got all of our flowers picked out and am currently picking out readings for our wedding. Our priest, though 80 years old, is very personable and down to earth. I started mailing out our save the dates and am finding that trying to get addresses out of a man is near impossible (Karyn, I'll be emailing you soon). All in all it's been a nice couple of weeks and we're getting ready for Jimmy to be leaving again soon. It feels like he got back yesterday and I'm not ready to be without him yet :(

Pics from top left to bottom:

1. Jimmy trying to figure out why our brand new lawnmower doesn't want to work anymore...after over an hour of trying we took it back and got one that does work!

2. My vegetable and herb garden

3. Jimmy and I at the wedding...towards the end....I am very intoxicated...note the dumb smile

4. Meaghan and Rich exchanging vows!

5. Me, Kaela, and Tiffany celebrating in the limo :)

Chaos

So I have a really good reason for not updating my blog recently. We closed on our house on the 27th and it's been hectic ever since. We've managed to move almost everything out of our apartment and we spent our first night here on Friday. Things that have needed or still need to be fixed: hot water heater (gas fumes weren't being vented outside..check), dishwasher (doesn't drain, we have a home warranty thank god...will be done this week), microwave above range (turns on but doesn't heat anything...we decided to replace it since we plan on replacing all the appliances eventually...til then we will use the one we own), upstairs toilet (I've plunged the shit out of that thing and it still drains slowly...we tried some uber draino in the sink to maybe clear the pipe that they share, if that doesn't work, Jimmy is going to learn how to remove a toilet!!), and the entryway light fixture (worked the day we moved in, then a bulb blew, I replaced them all, still  not working). I think that's it for now...oh the joys of being a homeowner!  It doesn't help that Jimmy hasn't been getting done with work til 5:30 most nights, which leaves me to do all of the work. I don't mind doing it but we have a fairly big house and it's hard doing everything by yourself (save for moving the big stuff, thanks to everyone who helped out and/or let us borrow stuff!). 

On a crazier note I spent my birthday night frantically trying to find my dog. Floyd got away from me when I was bringing him and Layla down for their first night here. It was torrentially downpouring rain all night and I couldn't find him anywhere.I had to call Jimmy at work to get him to come home and we combed the entire neighborhood. We went back to the apartment to see if anyone had found him and left a message. Of course not...at this point I'm thinking we will never find him, or he'll be dead on the side of the road. Driving back to the house Jimmy spots Floyd in someone's yard on one of the main roads. We got him, filthy, cold, and wet, and probably scared out of his mind. I sobbed hysterically from relief and immediately made Jimmy take a shower with him. So my babies are safe and sound, and are still trying to get used to their new surroundings. Jimmy and I are realizing how involved it is to be a homeowner and how much money we will be spending. We spent a small fortune on furniture and stuff at home depot yesterday. We now are the proud owners of a lawnmower! I'm hoping to finish painting over the ugly gold color in the living room soon, and unpacking our lives. Alas I am housebound today since someone took the key to my car on accident. I wonder how long it's going to take until we have some semblance of normalcy here? 

We bought in the wrong country...

http://matadorlife.com/what-can-150k-buy-in-real-estate-around-the-world/

Bali anyone? Perhaps South Africa? Crap...we could have spent a lot less on a palace elsewhere!

P.S. All set to close tomorrow morning on our house. Thus starts many hours of cleaning, moving, and painting, oh my!

Our First Home (hopefully)

So people have been asking me about the house that we are closing on next week, and I figured I would share some pics and details. First let me start off by saying that our luck with buying a home has not been very good and we're still a little nervous about getting too excited until we have the keys in our hands. Anyway, the house is a raised ranch, built in 1992 and sits on .65 acres in Uncasville (though it's basically in Montville, all the schools are right up the road from us). It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and two living rooms (one up one down). It's in a neighborhood, which we didn't want at first, but for resale purposes, it's a good thing. Jimmy and I went and picked out some new living and dining room furniture at Bob's and plan on picking out paint soon. So here are some pics that I stole from the seller's realtor's website (not sure if I'm allowed to). Enjoy! Oh and don't worry, we plan on re-painting the walls so they aren't canary yellow (bleck).

Pics from NYC

Fun Times in NYC

On Monday, Jimmy and I ventured our way into NYC for two nights of the Allman Bros. Band. We took the train in from New Haven (note  to self, they have a commuter rail that is so much cheaper than Amtrak...grrr) and arrived in a sunny, and surprisingly warm NY. Our first day was spent at the Museum of Modern Art (one of my favs) where we perused through some odd design pieces, classics like Picasso, Mattisse, and Rousseau, and my personal favorite, Rene Magritte :) Their gift store is incredible! We found a Magritte book for $15 and a Van Gogh poster that we plan on framing and putting in the living room. Having our fill of art for the day we went to Grand Central for the one and only Oyster Bar. If you like seafood, YOU MUST GO HERE!! We had 1/2 dozen oysters, grilled sardines (the big kind, from Europe...yum), and soup. Ahhh...thinking about it makes my mouth salivate. We made our way to the newly renovated Beacon Theater and watched a fantastic show! The next day we headed wayyyy downtown to the chocolate shop that we found 3 years ago when we first started dating. I had been looking forward to this for a very long time. We get to the back of the furniture store...and...it's no longer there!! Apparently they left 4 MONTHS AGO!! AGH!! Luckily the store clerk pointed us to another chocolate place. Max Brenner's (bald man) Chocolate Bar. Holy chocolate heaven. It's huge and there are pipes everywhere with chocolate in them and an enormous menu. Jimmy and I both got hazelnut crepes, oozing with chocolate. I took about 5 bites of mine and couldn't finish. We left very full and wandered around downtown. We don't normally venture around here (anything lower than 19th is foreign to us) but we found some interesting stores...including a CB2. It is apparently a Crate and Barrel 2 (we're registered at normal C&B). This place is much funkier but still fun to look at. We tried going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame annex, but alas they were closed on Tuesdays. Tuesday night we ate at a sit down, upscalish chinese restaurant and got our BACKSTAGE passes to that night's show. *side note* When Jimmy picked up my engagement ring he felt the need to drink a beer so he went to a restaurant next to the jewelers. He met a guy there whose cousin married the drummer of the ABB. Dude got Jimmy's info and worked his magic...thus our backstage passes). We got to sit in chairs off to the side of the stage and watched the whole show from there. At one point, Jimmy taps my shoulder and asks if that is Sheryl Crow sitting behind me. Well shit, it was! She made a guest appearance during the second set. Let me tell you folks, I can only dream of looking like she does in my mid-forties. Jimmy got everyone from the band (except Gregg Allman) to sign his poster. We had a fantastic time and our now swiftly approaching our closing date for the house. It's supposed to be next Friday but some repairs still need to be done. We're crossing our fingers that everything goes smoothly because we gave our notice on the apartment. So...we maybe homeless if the deal falls through...eep!

Engagement Pics!!

Hey everyone, some of our engagement pics are posted on our photographers' blog. Click on the link under my blog list to view them!

They are fantastic!!!

Weekend Craziness

So Jimmy and I have pretty much been laying low here in engagement bliss. Things with the house are moving along, the sellers are getting estimates for repairs and hopefully will replace the roof and deal with the electrical problems. Closing is scheduled for the 27th...so cross your fingers!

This past weekend we went to upstate NY to get some wedding planning out of the way. Jimmy, my parents, and I went up to Silver Bay on Saturday to taste the food and decide on what we wanted. Jimmy had never been there before and I was pleased to see that he found the venue as beautiful as I do. The food was fantastic (to my surprise...I went to summer camp here...wasn't expecting the food to be great). We're having a buffet of balsamic marinated steak with mushrooms and peppers, grilled chicken in a garlic sauce, and stuffed sole. I was originally against a buffet but people can have all three dishes if they want to and I don't have to ask what everyone wants beforehand. My cousin Tanya, Auntie Di Di, and Tanya's husband Heath came up for the night. Victoria, Tanya, my aunt, and mom met Katie down at David's Bridal and we picked out dresses for everyone. I let the girls pick whichever style they wanted, and my mom even found a candidate for herself! It was really easy, and drama free :) Victoria brought over a huge book with invitation examples, so Jimmy and I picked out invitations, cake serving stuff, and our champagne flutes. It took us no time at all :) Saturday night was spent eating fantastic home cooked food, wine, and watching old home movies and making fun of how I talked when I was a kid (i.e. chawwwlie instead of charlie). Jimmy and I headed to Saratoga on Sunday and met with our photographers. They were fantastic and took soooo many more pictures than I thought they would! We walked all over Congress park, walked up and down Broadway, and got some awesome shots in the alleys. Our last shot was a dip in front of our favorite restaurant, Maestro's, where we went and had an awesome lunch immediately after. We had such a great, stress-free time and all I kept saying was how much I missed living in Saratoga. 10 1/2 more years til retirement folks.

I'll post engagement pics as soon as I get them!!

Letter to my Congressman

"To the Honorable Joe Courtney,

It has recently been brought to my attention that in the Congressional Budget Office report (Budget Options, Volume 1: Healthcare, December 2008) suggestions have been made to force military families to pay more for their healthcare. It also stated that military retirees should pay more for their healthcare as well. On each page pros and cons were listed, yet one major con was left out. Members of our military stay in until retirement for the healthcare benefits. If this budget is passed, you will have soldiers dropping out of the military like flies and I guarantee that you won't be able to maintain a well-staffed military in any of the branches. My husband is a 9 year submariner and the only reason he is staying in until retirement is for the Tricare for life benefits. I am asking you to please take the ramifications of this proposed budget into consideration, and vote against any rising healthcare costs to military families. Sincerely, Stephanie West "

Obviously I made some changes to my name but the message still stands clear. Granted this is only a PROPOSED way to cut spending...I don't believe any of this has been brought to a vote. They are just going over ways to cut federal spending on a lot of things. Either way, I figured I would make my voice heard. You can read the entire proposed budget here:

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925

The page dealing specifically with military healthcare is on page 189.

I urge all of you to write to your congressman/woman to make sure that this won't happen.

(See all of my conservative friends...I'm not a complete liberal hippie ;)

Midday Musings

So I feel like I don't update very often, and I would, except there isn't much going on in our world this week. My parents came up on Saturday and we were in and out of the bridal salon in twenty minutes. I picked the dress that I posted in my blog and am super happy with my decision. My dad didn't even blink at the price tag :) The good news is there is no tax on my dress and I get free alterations which is fantastic because I plan on losing weight. I started Weight Watchers again this week. I gained a good 5-8 lbs. since Jimmy has been home (beer mostly) and I want to lose...uhhh probably at least 30 before the wedding. It won't be easy since my body likes to stop losing around 175, but I'm going to give it a whirl and start exercising too. Jimmy offered to buy me and eliptical machine but I'm going to hold off on that for a while (expensive) and just try to go to the gym or take Floyd for long walks. I weighed myself yesterday morning and had lost 8 lbs. already (which isn't normal at all). That is the first week though...then it drops dramatically every week after. So I'll probably update on how that is going. You're supposed to look you best on your wedding day so I'm going to attempt to get there :)

Other than that our home inspection got pushed back to Tuesday because the seller's realtor wasn't there for the gas company to turn the gas on. Jimmy pretty much lost it that day...I hadn't seen him that angry in a long time. It was F this and F that and then he decided (good call) to talk Floyd for a walk to blow some steam off. I understand his frustration and try to be sympathetic but I hate when he gets like that so I just try to ignore him until he comes to me about it. We haven't had much luck in the house buying game and we really like this house and are so ready to move. He hates living here (and he's only lived here for a total of 2 months) and we want a yard for Floyd and a place to bring our babies home to. God just enjoys watching us squirm. Things will work out the way they are supposed to...we just have to be patient.

Our relationship as a whole has been better than ever. I was really worried that when he came home we would have a horrible time readjusting, but it hasn't been like that at all. We're so much happier together than we were even a year ago. We are planning our future and are committed to making each other's goals come true. After we had our offer accepted on the house I started freaking out over the cost and if we could realistically afford it. Jimmy sat down on the computer and came up with a spreadsheet of income and debt. He showed me how we could afford it on his income alone. I kept saying how I should really get a full-time job but I wasn't sure how I could do that and go to school an hour away. He looked at me and said, very sincerely, that all I need to focus on is school and that I'll be making good money afterward. It's reassuring and comforting to know that the person you're going to marry really believes in you and vice versa. In a couple of years we're going to be in a fantastic place financially and then we can start making babies :) I'm so excited and optimistic for the future and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!

I got my ring :)

So everyone pretty much knows that Jimmy did some random, kinda cute, over the phone proposal while he was in Bahrain part 3. Things spiraled from there when I found out that the place I wanted to get married at only had 3 dates left for 2009. I booked my wedding and a whole bunch of other "wedding funness" before i got a proper proposal. Well last night we went to Fall River, MA to see the Wood Brothers (check them out...we've seen them 4-5 times) and celebrate V-day (he has duty today). Apparently Fall River has a huge Portuguese population and I've never sampled their food so we went to a nice restaurant before the show. A nice bottle of red wine, littleneck clams, two fantastic entrees and dessert...then he mumbles something and plops on his knee in front of me. I don't really remember what he said...something along the lines of "I love you, we've seen the Wood Brothers a bunch of times and we've always had a great time, let's make this one really memorable, marry me". Don't quote me word for word on that. So I got the most beautiful ring in the world from the most wonderful man in the world. It is a 1 ct. marquise cut diamond in a cathedral, white gold setting. It sparkles a lot :) So today my parents are coming down from NY to look at my candidates for wedding dresses and hopefully we will purchase one today! I won't feel like a schmuck anymore trying dresses on without a ring. YAY! 11/7/09 folks :)

Back to it...

So Jimmy had to go back to working normal hours today. I'm kinda bummed since it's been nice having him home. We haven't had a whole lot of down time in the past month. Lately buying a house has been our big time consumer. We have found a house in Uncasville/Montville that now under contract. Our home inspection is next week and then the dreaded appraisal. Last time we did the appraisal and the bank wouldn't give us what we had bid and then the seller wouldn't budge....therefore...no house. So you can see how I am trying not to get my hopes up too high. Jimmy had the bright idea to go look at paint colors, so we had fun perusing the aisles of Home Depot...looking at everything from lighting to bbqs. We're just both so ready to have a place of our own that we can bring our future kids home to. So cross your fingers folks!

Other than that...busy with wedding plans. My mom is coming down this weekend to look at my candidates for dresses and hopefully we'll make a purchase! Jimmy has duty on Valentine's day so I will be babysitting..aka trying to bring some money into our bank account. So yeah...that's it for now....sorry our lives aren't very exciting :)

Keep on Running...

As much as I hate it when Jimmy has duty...I sure do get a lot done. Today I decided to look at wedding dresses. By myself. Yep...I got that sad smile from everyone who saw me and I had to explain that my bridal party and my mother are all 3 hours away. I had a great time at a boutique in Providence that I thought carried a certain line but apparently they don't anymore. No worries...I still found a few dresses to try on. I laughed with the sales girl about how I couldn't fit into most of the dresses (sample sizes ran around a 10 on average), but not to worry, I planned on doing the whole starvation thing right before the wedding haha. Well I found two dresses that addressed everything that I wanted...ivory, some form of sleeve, a-line, and simplistic. The more I think about them the more I am leaning to one dress. It's a little pricey but the fabric is wonderful and it looks great on me. So basically I told my mother she needed to come up ASAP so I can take her and we can buy it. I also went to David's Bridal since their dresses are cheaper and I had a question about bridal party stuff. I had heard mixed reviews about them and after today, I don't think I want to buy my dress there. The salesgirl kept trying to tell me that a huge veil and blusher would be best (I don't like long veils) and that petticoats would fill it out (I HATE poof). Then when I found one that was ok she wanted to go ahead and order it....without my mother being there. "It could be a surprise for her". Ugh. Pushy salespeople piss me off. So my mom will be coming down in a couple of weeks and I'll show her the two that I like and hopefully we'll have a dress!!

Tomorrow it's back to looking at houses. I'm hoping that we come to a decision tomorrow. We have one possible candidate that Jimmy likes and I'm not too thrilled with but will make do with it if I have to. Houses, and weddings oh my! Shoot me please :)

P.S The dress comes with attachable cap sleeves which I plan on wearing :)

Letter from Michelle Obama to military families

I read this and was kind of touched by it. I'd post the whole letter but my blog is being a hooker.

http://www.military.com/spouse/fs/0,,fs_MessagetoFamilies,00.html?ESRC=mscc.nl

Wedding Pics

Busy Bees...

So my apologies for not updating recently, but Jimmy has been on leave and well, we've been busy. We had a fabulous time last weekend in NH for my cousin's wedding. I was the maid of honor so we went up early on Friday and took a detour to the Long Trail brewery in VT before rehearsal festivities. The brewery is basically across the street from where I used to live in VT and it is fantastical (my new favorite word). We had a great lunch and got to see my favorite beer, blackberry wheat, being made. The rehearsal and dinner was a good time. A lot of people got drunk at dinner (not us) and thought it would be funny to steal the decorative drink cups from the restaurant. My cousin left her purse there and the restaurant held it hostage until the cups were returned haha. The wedding was beautiful and my cousin looked incredible...as did her groom in his white and red pimp suit. Jimmy looked hot in his new suit from Bahrain and the tie that I got him for Christmas. We danced a lot that night and I got so many compliments from my drunk family members on how I picked a good guy...then of course Jimmy got the "you better treat her right" speech by my uncles :) I caught the bouquet and told Jimmy that he HAD to catch the garter....did he? NOPE. So I had someone else reaching up my dress putting the garter on. Highly amusing. The drunk lot of us decided that swimming would be a good idea after the wedding. So I figured I could swim in my underwear and a t-shirt. Jimmy told me no...like really told me no. Chalk that up to the first time he's been protective of me. We had a blast beating each other up in the pool and J and I won in a chicken fight against my brother and his gf Bridgette. All in all, a fantastic weekend!

This past week we've been busy looking at engagement rings (I found one!) and houses. We've got three houses that are in the running and are looking at one more candidate next week. Then we'll figure out which one we like best and put an offer in. Let's hope this time it works. Jimmy went back to work today so I get a full day to do whatever I want....which will probably consist of cleaning, and maybe going to the movies. I will try to update more...especially on engagement and house stuff!

Homecoming Pictures

About Time

As I'm sure most of you know Jimmy is home now. He came home Saturday afternoon to a cold and snowy Connecticut. I surprisingly got 6 hours of sleep the night before, made sure the apartment was spotless, got beautified and headed to Sam's for breakfast and mimosas (mmm). I made myself stop drinking after four...his first sighting of me didn't need to be a drunk one :) So we stood on the pier for what felt like FOREVER (probably because it was so cold that I couldn't feel my toes) and then they lowered the plank and the men started piling off. Wouldn't you know it that I was one of the last ones waiting for my man :) Then I spotted him, can't mistake the molest-a-stache he was sporting, and I attacked him :) Poor guy had roses for me that I crushed...I just didn't want to let him go. In spite of how angry I was about him buying a 2k rug (which we talked about and got over....though I plan to use that as the running joke of the year), my anger melted away once I saw his goofy smile. 

He is on leave so we were able to go home right away. Floyd was so excited to see his Daddy and they went back to being best friends in no time. We opened Christmas presents and he got me some lovely things from the countries that he visited. Perfume from France, an evil eye bracelet from Turkey, a stuffed monkey from Gibraltar, and....a matching diamond and sapphire necklace and earrings. Sapphires are my favorite and they are gorgeous :) I got him a bunch of cds that he wanted, Wall-E, some new ties to match his new suits, and beer! We sat and played on our new Mac for a while then I cooked stuffed sole, asparagus, and brown rice for dinner and we watched a David Gilmour dvd and went to sleep eventually ;)

We have stumbled back into our routine with almost no weirdness. A few times we've been short with each other and I swear if he leaves the seat up one more time I'm going to stick his head in the toilet! Other than that we've been having fun! We went to Providence and looked at rings and went to Dave and Buster's for lunch and games! I kicked his butt at Mario Kart and he smoked me at air hockey. We've resumed our hunt for a house and are already pre-approved for our loan. We start looking next week :) This weekend we're off to NH for my cousin's wedding. Our trip to NYC has been cancelled due to Steve Winwood being a dick and cancelling his concert....Jimmy was none too happy. Other than that just enjoying each other's company and talking about our wedding at the end of the year. I guess you could say I'm engaged now:)

Horoscope for the Day....

So I read my horoscope and laughed hysterically at how ironic it was: Keep your friends and family informed as to what you are thinking of doing today. Five minutes earlier I was wondering how I was going to update my blog in a tactful manner. I try not to air out relationship issues over my blog because it's completely one-sided. Then again, this is my blog, and is more or less an online diary of sorts. Needless to say, with homecoming being uber close at hand, Jimmy and I are probably in the worst argument of this whole deployment. Great timing....and no I didn't plan it...it's all his bad timing. Basically he made a HUGE purchase without discussing it with me and tried to hide it by using a different credit card than normal. I lost my mind because we are getting married, buying a house, going to CA, I'm going back to school, I'm only substituting right now, ALL IN THE SAME YEAR. So to say I am upset is sort of an understatement. In marriages (and yes I know we aren't married yet but since our finances are combined, we are financially) I assumed that couples talked and decided on big purchases together. I think anything over a few hundred dollars is in need of joint approval. Apparently I am mistaken...or Jimmy just thinks that doesn't matter. So now I've come up with a great revenge scheme that doesn't cost us anything, and in the end will be saving some money...and no it's not the "no concert" rule I was originally thinking of. It's better. He doesn't understand why I'm upset which makes things worse. I plan on basically greeting him on the pier then punching him in the balls. I would like to thank my wonderful family and Samantha from talking me off the proverbial ledge. I am praying that we can move past this and that he will never, EVER do this again...because frankly...I won't marry him if he plans to.

There is my one deployment, hate on Jimmy, post. I still love him, I still am anxious to see him, I'm still planning our future. I am fully confident that the next post will be one of happiness and lovey dovey crap. Until then I will keep myself busy with cleaning and preparing for his arrival...and trying not to throw things :)

Drinking and Bowling...Life is Good

So I've been trying to keep myself as busy as possible during the home stretch of deployment. Time seems to be creeping by so I try to fill the void with fun things. I helped Sam out doing inventory in return for pizza from our favorite pizza place in Mystic. After a week of no carbs....god did it taste so good. Sam, Eric (Joe's friend), and I went bar hopping throughout Mystic and had fantastic dessert at Azu....so much fun!

Last night was the bachelor/bachelorette party in NH. After the limo debacle I wasn't looking forward to the night at all. We settled on bowling and boy was I grateful. I had a blast with my crazy family and bowled incredibly for drinking a bit of beer. Go team F.U.!!

Time is winding down now and I'm trying to get things ready. I was thinking about how I had to go grocery shopping at some point, and I'll have to buy for two. I'm trying to remember what he likes to have in the house for food and I'm coming at a loss. I did make sure to have my parents bring some bbq chips from Stewart's (best convenience store only found in Upstate NY). I'm excited and nervous at the same time. We reconnected instantly in Bahrain but I worry it will be different here. I'm very much in my routine here and I take care of everything. I manage the money, get stuff taken care of, clean, care for the animals, etc...and now I have to share that again. You think I would jump for joy but I like being independent. It will be worth it in the end...and I'm probably making a mountain out of molehill. Only time will tell. I can't wait to kiss him though...molest-a-stache and all!

Quick Bitch Post

So this is my second round as MOH...and I'm not cut out for this shit. I had drama dealing with the bridal shower which resulted in 4 people not being there. I planned the JOINT bachelor/bachelorette party for my cousin and her husband...even though I don't live in NH and have only gone out once there. I found a great deal on a limo for 10 of us and got the ok from everyone to get the limo...and we'll go out and have a good time. I sent my deposit out this week since the party is this Saturday. I get a phone call...not from my cousin nor her husband...nor anyone in the bridal party. I get a phone call from my other cousin's gf who I have met ONCE telling me that the guys have bailed on the limo. WHAT!!!???!!! They all have my phone number and no one bothered to call or email me to let me know what was going on. Now I'm out $50 for this shit and am basically fuming. I am not working nor do we have a crap ton of money now....we have stuff that we are doing this year that will cost a lot of money...and I don't need to be throwing $50 out the window. I'm going to kill someone. ARGH!!!!

2009

In copying Kim's post, here are a list of things I'd like to do in 2009.

1. Go back to school in the Fall.

2. Get married :)

3. Buy a house

4. Find a job or at least be able to substitute a few days a week to help out

5. Roll over my 401k into an IRA

6. Lose 15-20 lbs

7. Go to CA with Jimmy to see his family

8. Come up with some sort of budget or financial understanding with Jimmy

9. Go on a honeymoon (that may have to be carried into 2010)

10. Have a house party...like a real I have to play hostess and entertain party

11. Figure out when we're going to start having kids

12. Spend as much time with Jimmy as possible...and tell him I love him everyday