To Everything There Is A Season.

Today my great aunt Rosie passed away. She hasn't been doing well for quite some time, so it wasn't a shock, but it is still difficult, as any death in the family is. She was a remarkable woman, she was Japanese and she moved to America just when she married my uncle. My uncle met her when he was in the Navy. I learned a lot about Japan from her, how to make "real" fried rice. I will miss her, and am sad that we won't be able to make it home for the funeral.

My aunt Rosie is the one in the middle of the picture. The ones on the sides are her two daughters, Ruby and Rika.

And a good time was had by all--and other stuff.

Well, we survived Christmas without any of our families. I'm quite proud of us, actually. We had our 2nd family over,though, so we had a good time, and we weren't alone. Chris and Heather, and Audrea and the boys came over. Mike is deployed, and he was missed. They are all coming back over on New Years Eve.

A new year is beginning. My regular resolution....is of course, lose weight. I'm chugging along. I've gotten a little off track with the holidays, but after New Years I'm getting right back into it. Eric and I have also decided to start trying again for a child. Actually, that was doctors orders...lol! To go off of the birth control, and try, and if nothing happens then my GYN will put me on Chlomid. I just hope to God I don't get heartbroken again. We'll see how this round goes, we are crossing our fingers.

Year in Review.

We used to do these all the time on myspace blogs, and it really is fun to sit back and look at the year.

January-We had a couple of snowstorms hit that shut down the base and town for a couple of days. We spent some time with Mike, Audrea, and the boys. Not much else happened, I don't believe.

February-In early February Mike, Audrea, and the boys spent a couple days with us due to a power outage on base. It was fun but a lousy reason why they had to spend a couple days with us. In the middle of February we put Ace, our bulldog, in puppy obedience classes, finally. And I believe we had another snowstorm in February. For Valentines Day Eric got me a Vermont Teddy Bear, 2 dozen roses, and a stuffed frog.

March-March was pretty much spent taking Ace to his obedience classes.

April-Ace graduated from his obedience class! We have a pretty well behaved dog, much much better than before he entered the classes. He knows all his commands, and he respects me more. I also hung out with Heather a couple times this month.

May-We went to dinner with Chris and Heather. My parents came the week before my birthday to visit. We didn't do much. We landscaped the front of our house, went to Palo Duro Canyon, the Big Texan, and also had a birthday BBQ before they left. Mike and Audrea and the boys came, as well as Chris and Heather. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!

June-Eric took me out storm chasing a couple times. It was quite an interesting adventure. In June I was also diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and as being pre-diabetic.
It was very upsetting news.

July-In the beginning of July Shaylyn and Eva came out to visit! We went to see the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, and then suddenly decided to embark on an adventure--to the Grand Canyon. We went to the Grand Canyon, and on the way back stopped and stood on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. We took a day to rest and then went down to Carlsbad Caverns. Beautiful! Shaylyn and Eva left. :( In the end of July Mike, Audrea, Eric, and I took a day and went from Clovis, to Albuquerque, to Jemez Springs, then back to Los Alamos, and back to Santa Fe and back to Clovis. It was a very long drive but fun day.

August-We begin packing for our trip home, although this trip home is going to be different for me. Shaylyn is getting married in November and I am one of her matron of honors! Eric and I decided for me to just stay in West Virginia until after the wedding. End of August comes and we go home, and also have our class reunions.

September-Eric went back to New Mexico alone :( Sad day, but I made it through. September was filled with wedding preparations, seeing family, friends, all that good stuff! Even a couple of high school football games.

October-My mom and dad and I and some good friends of ours went up to Canaan Valley for a weekend. Fun! In October also, a friend of mine from high school passed away very suddenly. It came as quite a shock and saddened all of us. More wedding preparations! The bachellorette party and the shower were all in the same weekend. My brothers and nephews birthday was at the end of October.

November-As the wedding got closer we all got crazier. Each Sunday it seemed like was wedding, wedding, wedding. But the wedding was November 20th and we couldn't have asked for a better day for Shaylyn and Remington. Everything was beautiful. Thanksgiving came and went.

December-December 1st I flew back to New Mexico, back to Eric. Right after I got back I got the sickest I have been in well over 5 years. We went to Eric's Ham Radio Club Christmas party and Squadron party. I am having Christmas dinner here at the house, Audrea and the boys are coming, as well as Chris and Heather. The year is ending off on a good note. :) Hope you all have a Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

Good friends, good time.

Yesterday we went over to our good friends, Chris and Heather's, and grilled out, and just sat around talking forever about everything under the sun. It is nice to know that we have friends like that now that are like family, don't judge us, etc. I am really looking forward to the holidays, on Christmas we are having Chris and Heather and Audrea and her boys over, and so far on New Years Eve Chris and Heather over...and we're talking about getting a deep fryer and deep frying a turkey on New Years, so that will be a lot of fun. So even though we can't be home for the holidays, we will be surrounded by people we consider family, which is nice.

Christmas Parties.

Today was our Christmas party day. 1st was Eric's Ham Radio Club party. We had a ball, Audrea and the boys were there, that made it all more better. I made my Pineapple Cassarole, and it went like wildfire. Everyone was asking for the recipe. The 1st Christmas party of the day was a total success.

The 2nd party was Eric's Squadron party, it was held at the Days Inn in Clovis. We had a ball there as well. Great group of people we were surrounded by. The food was wonderful as well. I also won a Nook, which is basically a Kindle. I think I am going to return it though, since I don't read very much. I've been trying all evening to figure out what I'm going to get with the money I get in return for the Nook, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.

That's about all...hope all of you have had a good weekend! :)

Weight loss so far.

My weight loss journey has been successful so far. All in all I have lost 21 pounds...and I am ecstatic! I have done it all on my own. I now know that I can do it, and I don't need the weight loss surgery to help me lose weight. I have a lot more I need to loose before we go on vacation in May or June. I have 45 pounds I need to lose to get to my first goal weight, and I know that that is totally possible. I need all the motivation I can get!

Sickly.

Saturday evening I got it. The dreaded stomach bug that's going around. Today is Wednesday and I am just now starting to get some color back in me and feel like eating again. This was the sickest I have been since before Eric and I have been married. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I have lost 5 pounds alone from being sick since Sunday. Anyway, that's about all that's been going on...trying to get better.

Home again, Home again.

Well, I survived the plane ride. It was interesting, but not uneventful. It had started snowing during the night, and it didn't stop the whole day back home. So in Pittsburgh they had to de-ice the plane. Which made us take off about 30 minutes late. And my layover in Memphis was only 30 minutes. I BARELY made my flight in Memphis. I had 10 minutes to make it to my gate. Which of course I was on the other side of the airport. But I made it.

It does feel good to be home again. The past couple days have been busy, so I haven't gotten to spend much quality time with the hubby, but this coming weekend is a 3 day weekend, so I am going to hopefully get some QT in with him.

Next weekend is going to be busy...we have 2 Christmas parties in one day, Eric's Ham Radio Club Christmas party during the afternoon on Saturday and also the Squadron Christmas party in the evening. So I will post after those to tell how those went. :)

4,3,2...

Getting down to the wire, now. Tomorrow will be the last day I see a lot of people for a year or more....I am incredibly sad about that. I won't see my parents again until May or June..that's when we are taking our vacation, that's why we probably can't come home this coming year. But it's all for good fun. We are going to meet our parents in Denver, and go to Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mount Rushmore, just a whole lot of things jammed into two weeks....but it'll be a fun two weeks.

6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Final Countdown to when I go back to New Mexico!! 6 days....I have had a blast in West Virginia but I miss my husband horribly and also my girls in New Mexico as well.

The wedding was this past Saturday. It was very beautiful. Shaylyn made a beautiful bride and I am so happy for her and Remington. It was a beautiful day as well, couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday--we are having it at my mom's house this year, not that much family is coming, though, it's just going to be my brother and his family. But that's ok. We're going to deep fry turkey's and all that good stuff.

That's about all for this post...hope all is well with everyone!

Wedding Talk, Anything Else?

We are now down to the final countdown for Shaylyn and Remington's wedding. 1 week and 5 days. Yesterday we went over to Eric and Michelle's and helped put together programs and cut gossimer and those were the final things we had to do, besides decorating the church and the park, of course.

We are going to Cleveland to visit family this weekend. I am excited to go, I love going to Cleveland. On Wednesday and Thursday I am spending those days with Shaylyn. I have been one busy bee, and I actually can't wait to go back to NM so that things will calm down...lol!

Lots o' been going on!

Well, lets see. The last time I blogged was in June. Lots has happened since then. In July Shaylyn and Eva came out to NM for a few days. We saw the 3rd Twilight movie, first on our agenda. The next day we actually got up and took a little road trip to the Grand Canyon. (a 10 hour drive from our house.) lol! unplanned, totally, but it was fun. We also went to Carlsbad Caverns. So it was a busy visit, but we had a lot of fun. The rest of July and the beginning of August was pretty quiet. At the end of August we left New Mexico for HOME..(West Virginia.) During our three weeks of leave we had a class reunion, which was eh.....don't know if we'll be coming back for the next one. It was rather disappointing. Eric spent a lot of time with his family, which is good. After three weeks of leave was up he went back to New Mexico and I am still in West Virginia. I stayed behind because I am one of the maids of honors in Shaylyn's wedding on November 20th....it is so exciting! My time at home has been a lot of wedding preparations. We did go up to Canaan Valley a couple weekends ago, though. I loved it! I am loving my time in West Virginia but I still have 6 more weeks to go and I am missing Eric terribly. I haven't seen him in a month. Grrr! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess. On the upside....while I have been home I have lost a total of 13 pounds. That is exciting! :)

That is all for now. Goodnight and sweet dreams!

Update

Hello! Just thought I'd update on what's been going on. Not much, really. Mom and dad came out to visit the week before my birthday, and we had a really nice visit. We didn't do much, we landscaped in front of the house, went to Palo Duro Canyon and the Big Texan in Amarillo one day, and then right before mom and dad left we had a BBQ for my birthday with Mike and Audrea and the boys and Chris and Heather. It was really nice!

We are watching Mike and Audrea's cat, Sniper, (who is also a Siamese cat, like Napolean) while they are gone on their trip to see family in New York for a couple weeks. It's been interesting!

Shaylyn and Eva come out to visit in one month. I am so excited! We have plans to go see the new Twilight movie, Eclipse, one night, go to Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell one day, and I'm not sure what else.....we'll just play it by ear I guess.

We are still planning on going home in August unless something happens and hinders us from going. Plans for that vacation include our class reunion, my family reunion, Jacksons Mill Jubilee maybe, and I dunno what else.

That's about it!

Disappointing.

Well...we were supposed to go camping in Colorado in July, but the couple we were going with, Audrea can't get off work. So we can't go; it's rather disappointing, but instead Eric is going to take some time off while my parents are here at the end of May, and we are going to try to go home at the end of August/early September now for our class reunion and Labor Day weekend. I am mucho excited, I didn't think we were going to be able to go home for it at all, but we are going to try.

That's about all :)

May-time.

Finally it's May. My birthday is this month. I will be turning 27. My parents are also coming out in a couple of weeks and staying for a week, I am very excited about that. I'm not exactly sure about what all we will be doing. I know they want to go to the Canyon out in Texas, so that's one thing, but the rest of the time, not sure.

This past week has been hell--for my allergies. I actually got so fed up with them and made a doctors appointment yesterday, on Friday. The doctor I had gave me prescribed zyrtec(I've only had over the counter)...it's been working really well...and flonase, so hopefully all of that will start to kick in soon.

The contractors are starting to work on our house, finally. Painting the outside and reroofing. Going to be a pain in the butt for awhile but it will look better once it is all finished.

That's about all for now. :)

*Insert Clever Title*

It has been awhile since I have blogged. Hmm...not really a lot happened during March. I kind of went off of my diet, which was shameful. And I can feel it, too. But I have started back up, I am doing the Wii Fit and the weight machine again and eating a LOT less.

Hmm...news...news. My parents are coming out in May for a week. They are actually driving this time, so they can stay a little longer than usual. Over the 4th of July weekend we are going camping in Colorado with good friends of ours, Mike and Audrea and their boys. We are really excited! Annnd...my best friends Shaylyn and Eva are coming to visit right after that, I am REALLY excited about that!!! It is going to be a great summer! Now if only when all that settles down, if I could find a job, I would be ecstatic!

Snow, snow, everywhere.

It has been snowing off and on since about 5'oclock yesterday afternoon. I am sick of it. Orders to anyplace (but Hurlburt Field) with a beach sounds nice right now. Thank you.

Valentines Day/Presidents Day.

So when my husband ordered me a Vermont TeddyBear, I thought that was it for Valentines Day since they are so expensive. I was wrong, lol...He surprised me that Friday night when came home from work, and brought me home 2 dozen roses, one dozen yellow, and the other dozen yellow dipped in red, and he also got a big stuffed frog with an I love you balloon attached to it. It was so sweet. That Saturday we went to Amarillo and went to the mall, and went to Olive Garden. Nom nom!

On that Monday (Presidents Day) we went to Roswell, to get a Sams Club membership. I have missed going to Sams, I love it there! We will probably go about every 2 months or so now that we have a deep freezer. We ate at Denny's, it was nice to eat at someplace other than Something Different Grill or someplace like that. :)

Hope you all had a marvelous *Heart* day!

The beginning of my weight loss journey.

I have decided that I am going to take my weight by the horns and get motivated and finally loose what I need to lose that is making life so hard and unhealthy for me. I have a class reunion coming up in the fall, also, and I don't want to go looking like I do right now. I look gross, and I feel gross. Let me back up and start where it all began.

In high school I was pretty average. I weighed under 200 pounds, but I was still chunky. I've never been under 160, I don't think. But I still looked decent. After I graduated, I went off to college, and I did one year of college..I gained the freshman 15 and then some. I was not happy with myself, at all. When I came back home, I was exercising and eating right..well, mom was feeding me, so I was having to eat right, lol.

2002 was when Eric and I started dating. And 2003 was when we got engaged, and started planning our wedding. From 2003 to 2004 I lost a total of 45 pounds and I weighed 175 at the time of our wedding.

What is making me get serious and want to lose this weight. And I am embarrassed to say this. In 6 years I have gained over 100 pounds. I feel like a whale. Right now I weigh 248. That's scarily unhealthy for a girl my age. I have made it my goal to lose 30 pounds by the time my parents come out to visit in the spring and another 30 by the time we go home...that will put me at 188. Much better than what I was at Christmastime when my family saw me last, that's for sure. Of course I don't plan on stopping there, I want to get down to a healthy weight for a person my age.

I am wanting to do this without weight loss surgery, and I feel that I can. I am scared at the thought of having thousands of stitches put in me.

I will update as time goes by, I just wanted to give my story and as to why I am so upbeat about losing this weight--and why I don't want surgery.

The end of January, beginning of February.

Well, it's almost the middle of February already, which is kind of hard to believe. The year is already going by fast. The end of January brought another "snow storm", we only got 3-4 inches here in Portales, I think Clovis may have gotten a little bit more. I am so ready for Spring to come. At the very end of January, along with the snowstorm, the entire base lost power for a day-day and a half due to something beyond everyone's control. We had our good friends, Mike, Audrea, and their boys staying with us for a couple days until they got their power back. I guess that is one advantage of living out here in Portales, we don't have to deal with the crap that the base does every so often.

We got a new coffee table from someone who lives out in Chavez West for $100...it is a good coffee table too, it came from Ashley Furniture. It matches perfectly with everything. We went to Lowes on Saturday and got a table and a couple of lamps to sort of match the coffee table, and you really can't tell that they didn't come in a set.

Back home in West Virginia, they're getting hammered with snow and stuff...my parents lost power this past Saturday and they might not get it restored until this weekend.

Valentines Day is this weekend. I am a bit upset, since Eric won't take the time to tape the Daytona 500 and actually take me out ON Valentines Day...I am getting jipped this year. Stupid race.

That's about it..

Snow, exercise, and a little bit of rock and roll....

Ok, so I am totally new at this blogging thing, other than on myspace of course, which I haven't blogged on there in FOREVER...so I decided to create a blogger to write some of my thoughts down sometimes. :)

Ok, so let me just start by updating on everything that's happened since the end of last year..we went home on Christmas leave around December 15th for about 3 weeks. It was a good trip, all in all. Except, when we first got there that first weekend, we had a MAJOR snowstorm come through that dumped over a foot of snow on us...and I think the entire time we were home, we only had about a couple days that it did NOT snow. Needless to say, I was ready for spring at THAT point in time. Plus, I got really bad bronchitis, close to pneumonia that kept me down for the week of Christmas. Boo! But I still got to see everyone, so it was all good.

Things since we got back haven't been so hectic. I have been applying for job after job after job. I finally got a call back from a job I applied for at the base clinic this past week, they said they would be more in touch with me this coming week. So I am crossing my fingers and I could use all the prayers in the world cause we could really use the 2nd income. Last Thursday a snowstorm/blizzard came through and dumped close to 10 inches of snow here in Portales. I don't think this place knows what to do with that much snow, it is kind of funny. I was ready for spring back in West Virginia, now I am REALLY ready for spring.

I have been working on my weight. I really need to get down below 200 pounds. I can't believe how I have let myself go, and I feel gross. I haven't been eating as much, and I have been doing the treadmill a lot. I am going to start making myself get out and start walking 2 laps around our loop, because 2 laps around that equals a mile. So I should start seeing results if I do all that. I really need to, because there's talk of our high school class having a reunion sometime later this year and I REALLY don't want to go looking like this.

That's about all for now. I hope whoever reads this has a good week!