Packing...Day 1

So I finially decided last night that I should probably start packing since I move....ooooh in about 10 days!!! I had just recently done a crap ton of laundry and so I figured I might as well pack up the clean stuff so that I won't have to wash it again before I leave. After a lot of very strategical rolling and stuffing I managed to fit almost all of my clothes into one large and one medium suitcase. I left out enough clothes for the next week and a half and those should all fit in my last smaller suitcase, SUCCESS! In between all of the rolling and packing, I carefully went through all of my clothes and seperated them into three different categories: keep, toss, Goodwill. I've definitely learned to embrace the phrase "one person's junk is another person's treasure".

This morning I decided to start attacking the kitchen appliances and utensils that I don't use on a daily basis. Lucky for me, I can still use my roommates stuff in the mean time. I am hoping to be able to fit everything I own into 10 boxes and 3 suitcases. This may be wishful thinking, but I'm going to do my best to try!

On top of beginning my packing adventures, I have officially started my last year of college at SCSU this past Monday! I'm taking 4 online classes (2 of which my best friend Megan is also taking) to keep myself on track to graduate in the spring next year. I found out that I have to take one 150 question test and another 90 question test and that's ALL that's required for the entire semester!!! This semester will hopefully be fairly easy on me since I know I'm not going to want to study the second my husband comes home from work!

Earlier this week I recieved some good news and some bad news. The good news was that Bryan was heading back to Pendleton and leaving 29 Palms (aka a desert in the middle of no where). I have been able to text him during the day and talk to him every night since. I can't begin to explain how happy I am when I see his name and picture light up every time he calls :). The bad news is the reason he had to leave was because the entire setting was so realistic and similar to his times being deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan that he was having troubles with it on all levels. I can't help but worry about him and the rest of the guys that are still out there. There is so much more that goes on over seas that us back home never hear about. As Bryan puts it, "People don't want to hear about the nitty gritty things that have to happen in order to keep us all safe. Every single Marine (and military person) entirely believes in what they're fighting for, and that is to keep the war as far away from their friends and families back home as possible."

I realize that I take so much for granted. I need to remember that only two defining forces have ever offered to die for me: Jesus Christ and the American soldier. One died for my soul, the other for my freedom (I read this quote somewhere and thought it quite fitting). I hope that everyone is having a great day, and that you take the time as some point during your week to really count your blessings.

Last minute shopping success

Once again I was excited and surprised to get to talk to Bryan on Monday night. He filled me in on "playing marine" out in b.f.e (bum f. egypt) and also to pass along some last minute info. He informed me that there was a Marine Ball coming up on Friday, September 10th. This is a very formal event for the marines where the men wear their dress blues and the women wear floor length gowns. From what I've gathered through doing a little research and talking with other military wives it's supposed to be a night to honor and celebrate the Marines and gives them another reason to party and drink til the cows come home!

Now I'm not sure just how long he knew about all of this, but he didn't feel the need to pass any of it along my way until only 3 weeks before hand. If you're a girl and you've ever tried to get ready for prom, you know that this kind of thing takes time! On top of it all, being the middle of August, it's still too far away from homecomming season for anything floor length and prom season doesn't really start until November. Most places take up to 3 weeks alone just to oder the dress and get it rush delivered. I was going into panic mode when after searching every store in St.Cloud I found literally NOTHING that would work! Luckily I have an amazing friend to counter balance my psychotic episodes who drove us both down to the Mall of America today to try our luck there. 6 hours later and this is what we've come up with!

You honestly have no idea how hard it was to find a long black dress that was not covered in glitter or showed more skin than a bakini! More than that, this all was very last minute for something that people take months to get ready for and was definitely not in the budget. I found both the dress and the shoes on clearance and am hoping that I can borrow some cute jewelry to complete the look. Not sure if I want to go with something black and chunky or more diamond looking. Now just to get those arms in some sort of shape other than round and I should be set!

I'm nervous and excited for the ball because I've obviously never been to one before and everyone says that they're a blast. On the other hand, I will have only been out there for a whopping 4 days and will know almost absolutely NO ONE! Being a newbie is also another very intimidating factor. Some military wives have been known to be very judgemental of other wives or girlfriends joining their groups. It's like being in high school all over again, ugh! I am honestly just hoping to have fun, spend some time with Bryan and his friends, and not make myself into an embarassing spectacle where everyone points and laughs. Again, I'm feeling very small and intimidated by all of this and it has a tendency to freak me out at random times during the day. So I'm crossing my fingers and saying a few prayers about this one.

3 weeks!!!

This past week has seemed to fly by without me realizing it once again. It was filled with work, great friends, emotional rollercoasters, and lots of planning. I recieved the BEST news on Monday when my award letter for financial aid finally came in. After 3 years of having to take out faaaaaaar too much in loans, this year I recieved enough aid in GRANTS (meaning I don't have to pay back a penny) to completely cover my senior year of college!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I'm a bit overly enthusiastic about that fact. As awesome as that is, I still decided to take out a little bit in loans to cover some of my added moving expenses and to put some away in savings to begin building a little bit of a cushion. I can't begin to explain in words the relief I felt when I seen this. I'm able to pay off some unexpected bills that recently came up and be a little more stress free about our finances :D.

On top of that, I made my latest purchase on craigslist once again and found a great dining room table and four chairs for a great price. I will hopefully be picking those up later this weekend. Everything is really starting to fall into place and I couldn't be happier. My next big step is to start efficiently packing everything back up and in nice little boxes. I have moved so many times already that by this time next year I will be putting my foot down and parking my butt where ever the heck it is (well, unless it's in Nebraska or Iowa, ugh!).

I have recently been developing my new ideas for Bryan and I's "re-wedding" for next June. The date has tenitively been set for June 11th 2011. It's the closest weekend we could come to our original wedding date (6/8/10). It will be in Auborn, Kansas which is Bryan's hometown. I know it's going to be asking a lot of my family to make the 9 or so hour drive down but it means a lot to Bryan and I'm kind of excited to be once again getting married in another state. Side note: This may become a new hobby of ours :P. The only set back on the date is that it just happens to be his parents 28th year anniversary. I wouldn't want to take away from them or interupt any plans they may have already made for themselves, so until we get the yay or nay from them we're pretty much stuck in detail mode.

The countdown is officially at 22 days until I leave for Cali, giving me 3 weeks left in MN. I have 3 weeks to see family and friends, pack up all my crap, work almost every day, and finish changing my name on everything. It's going to be crazy busy but I can't wait to see my husband again, especially after getting a surprise phone call from him last night!

I have kind of come to the realization that it seems impossible for me to write a short post. I'm going to have to work on that one. Also want to say a quick congrats to my best friend's sister Anne who is getting married today! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend :)

And the countdown begins..

As of July I have made a pretty big decision about the upcoming months ahead of me. I will be saying goodbye to Minnesota until late December and heading off to California for what I like to think of as an "extended vacation". All of my classes this semester are online so there isn't much to do but go to work and sit at home here in the cold. So instead I am going to spend my days after work relaxing on the beach, soaking up a few rays, and spending every chance I get with my husband. Of course I'll be doing homework and such too, but when you've got wireless internet the possiblilities are endless as to where I want to do it!

In exactly 27 days I will be making the ridiculous 30 hr drive to Cali. I'm so lucky to have great company along for the ride. My little brother will be driving his truck and hauling the u-haul out there with the majority of my stuff, and my best friend, Megan, will be helping me switch driving on and off. It's going to be a LONG trip but more than worth it! I haven't even thought about starting to pack yet, but I'm sure the ambition will hit me eventually. The scarriest part is that I'm going to be doing most of this without contact from Bryan. He will be in 29 Palms for deployment training (which I think is absolutely stupid since he's not being deployed anymore anyways) and since it's in the middle of a desert, I have a feeling he won't be getting much cellphone reception out there. Those 3 weeks are going to be the longest and hardest weeks I've had in a long time.

I've just recently bought a matching couch and love seat that are a deep chocolate brown microfiber for our apartment. Now just to find a decent kitchen table with chairs, end tables, TV and TV stand, a few lamps, bathroom decor, and some extra blankets and I should be pretty set and good to go. If anyone knows of anyone getting rid of any of these items, I would really appreciate a heads up. Until then, I'll continue with my search on craigslist and pendeltonyardsales.com.

That's all for today. I suppose I should be getting some sleep since I work bright and early tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend and is living life to the fullest.

My 5 days of heaven!

It's been a week or so since I've posted last but I've had a good excuse for slacking, I promise! Last week Tuesday I got up bright and early to drive down to the cities to go pick up my amazing husband at the airport. I've been waiting, very impatiently I might add, to see him for the past almost 2 months! From that moment on for the next 5 days I was in my own little world and happier than I ever thought I could be. He got to meet some of the most important people in my life, and even though it may have been a bit overwhelming for him, he did it all with a smile and a few laughs. More than once I would wish that we had more time so that he could meet everyone. There are still so many people that I want him to meet.

We had lunch with "grandma and grandpa" (Lene and Bob) at our traditional Pizza Ranch. After that I brought him to work to meet everyone and most importantly to re-unite him and Megan after 4 long months of not seeing each other! She was so happy and surprised that she shoved me out of the way to run and give him a huge hug! Since she is the only other person in MN that Bryan knows, I made sure that we got to see her as much as possible. That night he also got to meet Vahna, Alisa, and Shoutz as we had our own little party at their place.

Wednesday came fast and after eating yummy pancakes for breakfast (yes I actually cooked), we ran some errands, and then I had to unfortunately work from 2-8 that night. It was the longest 6 hour shift of my life! It was totally worth it because while I was away at work, he was at home making homemade spaghetti and meat sauce with fresh baked cheesy french bread! It was sooooo good!!! Making a mental note that I'll have to let him cook more often ;)

Thursday morning came early and Megan picked me up for work while he continued to sleep. It felt like the clock just wouldn't move. Finally my boss kicked me out of work so that I could spend time with my husband! Have I ever mentioned that I love my boss :) We went to Litch so that he could meet my mom, had lunch with my brother, and then hung out at my cousin Jeremy's place for a little while before we headed up to Grand Casino Mille Lacs for a night alone at the casino. That jacuzzi suite was HUGE but best of all it was free!!!! (Thank you)

We had to leave early the next day to drive all the way down to Hutchinson to meet my sister and brother-in-law for lunch. We ate at the yummy Zella's in town (thank goodness they had a form of mac and cheese or we would have been stuck with McDonalds). I never noticed before just how much alike him and Mat are, it's pretty scary to be honest. After running around and doing more errands I got my fix of DQ by getting a large twist cone. There is ALWAYS room for DQ, but that doesn't mean you're going to feel great afterwards. So we putzed around Litch some more waiting for my dad to get off of work so we could meet him for supper at the Legion. I was shocked just how much Bryan got my dad talking. It was pretty funny to watch. Then it was back home again to cloud to see Megan and Wade one last time before he left. I couldn't believe that I was already saying that. It broke my heart to know that this was the last chance he'd get to see Meg for who knows how long, it was the last night for at least another month until I'd get to tell him goodnight in person, my happy world was coming to an end so quickly and I didn't know how to grab ahold of the time and make it stop :'( It was hard to try and stay positive when I knew the inevitable was just around the corner.

Saturday we woke up fairly early and I made us breakfast again. We lounged around until we had to go to the bank, but unfortuantely I think we lounged a bit too long since we got there literally a minute after the bank closed, darn. There was a nice surprise added to our day when we got to talk and catch up with one of his best friends for about 25 minutes that afternoon. Shain was so jelous that Bryan was here in St.Cloud and he wasn't (especially since MN is his home state and he's out in Colorado). I guess you snooze you lose buddy :P We made it a point for the rest of the afternoon to spend as much time together doing as little as possible. So we took a stroll down Munsinger Gardens and made some plans for our upcoming re-wedding next year until he had to leave. I've never hated that drive to the cities more in my life! It was just as hard if not harder on the drive back. When I got back to my apartment and walked in my room all I could think was that was just here and now he's gone. It's going to be a LOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG month until I get to see him again, but it's always worth it in the end.

Now it's Sunday and I've been having the worst beginning of the week ever. I did the over night shift last night and was supposed to be done at 6 but the person who was supposed to relieve me didn't come until 6:45! I got about 2 hours of sleep only to come to work at the apartments and get yelled at by people all day who can't move in to their apartment because they're too much of a procrastinator to get their heads out of their butts and turn in a freakin piece of paper!!! AHHHHH!!! Any ways, here's to hoping that the rest of my week gets better. (will add pics later)