Long time, no see!

For some reason I can no longer pull up Blogger on my laptop and it has been driving me crazy the past few weeks! So I finally tried on a different computer in the house and it was a success. So much has been going on since my last update!

I finally quit my last job about 2 weeks ago and it's felt amazing! I have been working since I was 16 and to have all of this time off has been the best. As I have said before, I joined the Army back in September and my time has finally come to leave for training! My bags are packed and I go to my hotel Monday night, MEPS Tuesday morning and then I'm on my way to Fort Jackson! I'm beginning to get so nervous and scared, but I know that I can do this. It's just a bunch of mind games and all they want is for you to be scared so that they can tear you down and build you right back up into a soldier. As sad as it is to leave home, I'm ready to begin this journey! Basic will last 9 weeks and 4 days. Following that I will start AIT school which is 8 weeks and 3 days. I am scheduled to graduate mid-July so thankfully training isn't that long!

We have hit 2 months since Derrick left for Afghanistan. Part of me feels like he just left yesterday, but another part feels like he has been gone forever. If everything goes as planned, he will be coming home shortly after I finish all of my training which is SO exciting! I'm ready to have him back at home. A lot has happened since he has been gone so it's only necessary to update with some pictures!

 I had a fun weekend visiting the Georgia Aquarium with my sister-in-law, Rachel and my precious niece, Kaley! We had a blast and I can't wait to go back and show Derrick how much has changed since the last time we visited!

 My bag is all packed and ready to go for BCT! It's so exciting, but very bittersweet!

 I received this in the mail a week before Valentine's Day and it was such a surprise! I'm a lucky woman and I love my husband very much!

 My mom and step dad took me to the Cheesecake Factory sort of as a 'going away' dinner. It was as good as everyone makes it out to be and I had a lot of fun! Love them so much!

 One of two of Derrick's final packages. I'm a good wifey, all his basic needs ;-)

 A sample from the boudoir shoot I had done to give to Derrick. It was so much fun!

Love my niece to pieces! We had so much fun at the zoo!

I will update again once I finish Basic Training!! 

Wish me luck! :-)

It's almost time for a new beginning!

Things have been steady lately and I actually feel like I have a life at home again. I quit Longhorn sooner then expected because of some things that went on, and I don't think I could be any happier. The original plan was to quit a little over 2 weeks before I leave so that I can spend time with family, but I'm glad with the way things worked out. I'm still at Kroger working 20 hours a week so that is an extra paycheck until I decide to quit. 

(Which I have no idea how I'm going to do!)

In better news, THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

I officially have 30 days left until I leave for basic training! I can't believe how quick it is coming up and how real it is starting to feel. I am so excited to start a new part of my life, but I am also very sad to leave my home. Knowing that I won't be back here to live for atleast for a while is what makes things so hard. I remember going through this with Derrick, knowing Conyers/Covington isn't his home anymore. If he were to come home, it's only for a few days. That bothered me so much and I never would have thought I would go through it too.

Lately I feel like I have so much to do, yet I always find myself sitting around bored. Packing my room hasn't been much of a success. In one corner of my room is a lot of my things packed that I am taking to NC with me, but yet I still have SO much left in my room. It doesn't even look like I packed anything away and it's driving me crazy! I've been working out often and my run is starting to improve a little bit. Hopefully I can pull through and pass this PT test! :-)

I finally got Derrick's 2nd care package shipped out. I tried holding off as long as possible since he had just received his other one, but I couldn't help it anymore! I plan on making a smaller one and shipping it either right before I leave for basic or I will have a family member ship it for me in mid-March. I haven't really decided yet! It was a success though and I will post pictures!

This is where I stand on the packing. My little bitty car already won't hold all of this stuff, and the worst part is that I still have so much left to do!!

This is the completed picture of Derrick's Care Package! I posted a picture of just the box in the last post, which you can't even see the inside because it's so stuffed with stuff!

Military Survival Kit:

Lifesavers: To remind you that that's what you are.

Gum: To help your unit "stick" together.

Drink Mix: "Instant Drink" Add water and shake. 

(For when you are on maneuvers.)

Excedrin: Thank you, I know your job is a headache.

I had so SO much fun making this package!! I found the idea online and thought it was the cutest ever!

Anyways, that's about all for now. Will update again soon! :-)

1 month!

Okay!

I am so so SOOO happy to say that I only have 1 month left at work! It's official. February 19th is my last day of work at both of my jobs!!! Woohoo! I leave on March 6 for BCT so I have a little over 2 weeks to spend time with my family, pack my room up and say my good-byes. The last 5 months have gone by a lot quicker then I thought they would. I signed for the Army on September 28, 2011 and here I am months later with 44 days remaining. I have so many emotions going through me right now. A little bit of scared-excited-nervous-ecstatic-AHHH!! Never in a million years did I think I would ever join the military! I can't wait to see what my future has in store for me and Derrick! I'm so ready to find out! :-)

Mixed emotions

It's been one of those days, excuse me, one of those weekends. My new job is great. I honestly think I'm going to enjoy it and I'm excited to see how it goes within the next month until I leave for training. Unfortunately though, it isn't doing what I hoped for it to. One of the main reasons I agreed to get a second job was to help keep me occupied... busy while Derrick is away. I honestly thought it would help the days go by quicker then usual. Up until now I have been okay with the fact that Derrick is across the world, thousands of miles away. It's starting to hit hard that he isn't going to be home for a long time and I have no idea how to deal with it. I'm starting to miss him so much more everyday and I'm hating every bit of it. I am a strong person and I will continue to be strong, but sometimes it sucks knowing I can't hold him or kiss him when I want to. I can't even pick up the phone to call or text him and it's driving me crazy! He is worth every bit of insanity though and I will continue to stand by his side even though distance stands between us right now. I love that man so very much that he doesn't even understand. 

Anyways! There's my daily venting :-)

"Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It is for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It is for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough..."

Care package addiction?

Is that even possible?

I have never been one to enjoy spending money on other people for the heck of it. 

That sounds so selfish, but it's the truth. 

I. HATE. SPENDING. MONEY.

Period!

After I finished Derrick's first care package on Wednesday and got it in the mail, I got so bored sitting around and realized how much fun and how much I enjoyed making it. I stayed up last night decorating his 2nd box! Crazy, I know. But! I'm not shipping this one until at least February. I mean, I can't spoil the man THAT much... I wouldn't want to make the other soldiers completely jealous or anything ;)

The theme of this care package though is going to be "Military Survival Kit". I found the idea on a website online and thought it was so so cute! So I'm going to try it, and hope it works! Here's a picture of the box so far. Not sure if I want to do anything else to it and I definitely haven't bought anything to put it it yet.

Example of the kinds of things that will go in here:

Lifesavers - to remind you that that's what you are

Pack of Gum - to help your unit stick together

Sample pack of Excedrin - Thank you, I know this job can be a headache

Map of USA - so you will never be far from home.

A Starburst - To give you a burst of energy on days when you don't have any

Body wash - To make sure you are squeaky clean at all times

That's just a few of the many on the list! I'm so excited to see how it turns out. :-)

Hope everyone has a great day!

Dealing with it all..

Okay, once again I am guilty for not updating in a few weeks. So much has been going on lately and I have been super busy!

My last post was right before Christmas, so I will start from there.

Christmas Eve morning, Derrick, his family and I all went to get pictures made. (So excited to see how they turned out!) After finishing that up, we spent the rest of the morning at my moms house opening presents and we had a big Christmas "brunch". The day continued on and I was just so happy to be with all the people I love. The next day we celebrated Christmas at his house, once again opening gifts. There was no rushing around, no planning or places to go, we spent the day hanging out watching movies and it was the best. We got Derrick all packed up and that Monday morning he was back on the road to North Carolina!

For the last and final time, Derricks date for deployment got pushed back to the 4th of January. Unfortunately, he didn't get to come home for New Year's since his date was within a 48 hour time frame, so that was kind of sad. I spent the night working and then I came straight home, changed into my pj's and went to bed. :-) No other way I would have wanted the night to end, unless with Derrick, of course.

After everything, I packed up my things and left on the 3rd to go to North Carolina. The day I never thought would come, well it finally did. He left at 5:30 Wednesday morning and it broke my heart watching him leave. I never imagined being a military wife, but I have to admit that I enjoy every bit of it; the good and the bad. Derrick has been gone for a week now and I'm happy to say that I am doing wonderful. The joy of waking up to e-mails and talking to him at night is what keeps me going. It's a whole lot easier then I ever expected it to be and I am so thankful for that. No exact word on when he will be coming home, but as of right now, it's not looking to be as long as we expected, which is AWESOME! :-) Oh yeah! I made my first care package and I'm already addicted to it. I had so much fun and I can't wait to start on  the next one! This package's theme was 'Valentine's Day!'. The next one is going to be 'Military Survival Kit'! Can't wait!!

Best wife award? I think yes!

I have been working out sooo much lately! My one and only New Year's resolution was that I was going to start exercising and working out for BCT. The last thing I wanted to do was get to Fort Jackson and get my butt handed to me, so of course I'm sticking with it. :-) I would say I'm doing pretty dang good too since I only started a week ago!!

So far I can do:

Sit-ups: 45 (in 2 minutes)

Push-ups: 19 (stopped at 30 seconds cause they kick my butt!)

Run: 1 mile (in 9:32)

What I need:

Sit-ups: 53 (in 2 minutes)

Push-ups: 19 (in 2 minutes)

Run: 2 miles (in 18:54)

I'm so close on the sit-ups and I can do all the push-ups I need! Now over the next month I mainly have to focus on my run! I have faith in myself that I can do it though so I'm gonna give it my all to get this rank.

Well I think that's all the update I have for now! I'm gonna try to update this thing atleast 5 or 6 more times before I leave. My date that I leave for Fort Jackson, SC is March 6! I'm so excited!

GUILTY!

Okay! So I'm guilty for not updating this thing as much as I said I was going to in the beginning. I feel like lately I haven't done much of anything, but at the same time I feel like I never get a chance to rest. Working all the time seriously drains the life out of me!

My last few blogs have been about Derrick's deployment. Update? Well were still waiting. That's what you get when you deal with the government I guess. His set date which was printed on the orders he received was for the 14th, which didn't take long to get pushed to this past Monday, December 19th. Well last Tuesday night, I took a surprise road trip to see Derrick in North Carolina. We were so sure that he was leaving on Monday, so I wanted to spend some time with him before we had to say good-bye. Well of course once I get up there, he gets told that he won't be leaving on the 19th. His new date is now the 28th, which we don't see that falling through either. I only have one feeling about this situation. What the #%$%#$%!!!! It's so irritating-annoying-stressful-confusing. It's ridiculous! I am already so over this military thing. I never knew it was going to be this way and it drives me crazy!

On the bright side! I'm so so SOOO happy that Derrick is going to be home for Christmas!!! After he got off work this morning, he packed his things and drove home! I was so prepared to spend our first Christmas as a married couple apart, but I'm so ecstatic to know that he is here, safe and sound, and with me! 

No matter how much I complain and throw fits, at the end of the day, I love my husband. He is worth every bit of annoyance and agitation that the military brings me and that will never change. He IS what keeps me going and I am so grateful and thankful to call him mine. :-)

A few pictures from my last minute trip to North Carolina, and I'll update this weekend with Christmas pictures!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!