Saturday in Color

My Saturday went something like this:

2:47 Get woken up by Aaron who is coming home from work

2:52 Try to go back to sleep

3:11 Give up on falling back to sleep and hang out with Aaron until his 6:00 AM bed time

5:38 Aaron declares he is going to bed

5:46 The cat starts crying at the bedroom door This continues off and on for about 30 minutes

6:27 Put the cat into the laundry room/Watch recorded shows on the DVR

9:02 Take a shower/Get dressed/Brush hair and teeth

9:24 Start a batch of Gluten free Muddie Buddies for the ESC craft Bazaar

9:56 Arrive at craft Bazaar and spend two hours selling cookbooks and treats

12:00 Come home and lay down for a nap

3:37  Aaron comes in and asks "Are you going to get up" I reply with a five minute request.

3:38 I Throw myself out of bed after hearing the time...I have to get ready for my Birthday celebration!

3:50 I Text roxy to let her know I am awake and getting ready

4:17 I call tucanos to secure a reservation and it's 5:30 or 8:00  5:30 it is...

5:22 We arrive at Tucano's safely.

5:48 We are already eating the delicious offerings

6:53 We leave to go to Kohls where Aaron buys me 2 pairs of nice pants and 3 nice top sets

8:03 We decide to come back to Mountain Home to hit up some clubs

9:00 Go to Kurly's for the first round...Get bored

9:38 Walk to Mark Anthony's to smoke a hookah...awesome!

10:02 Go to Pick up Wendi and Mark

10:47 Arrive at Rodeo, the pool playing/dancing/drinking commences!

It was a fantastic birthday celebration and on Thursday I am going with Mirinda to The midnight release of New Moon!  Pinch me because I am pretty sure I must be dreaming.  This has been the best birthday since I got married 3 years ago.  I think the hubby is finally getting the hang of it.

What I saw Saturday morning outside in the backyard.

At Tucanos' where we ate dinner.  It was amazing and so yummy!

Before Leaving I asked one of the guys smoking outside to snap a picture of the four of us.

At Rodeo's Before I had a few drinks,  Aaron gracioulsy offered to DD for me.

Mike wanted a picture with him being the "creepy" guy in the background throwing up the "shocker"

Me, Wendi and Roxy

Mike doing his best Michael Jackson in front of a fan

This is how the night ended with me and Wendi dancing on stage to "I'm on a Boat" with two random chicks... I plead the Fifth.

Thanks everyone for an awesome Birthday Celebration.  Roxy and Mike we are going to miss you when you leave for Virginia in a few months.

Did I mention???

That Wednesday the 18th is my birthday?  That's right I will be 23 years old.  It seems so weird, I was telling Aaron the other day how sometimes it feels like I'm still only 19 and newly married.  As a sort of birthday thing we are going to Tucanos tonight for dinner.  I am very excited about this because it's supposed to be a real treat.  They carry around meat on huge platters/spits and carve it right there at the table.  We have never been to one, but we are really excited about the experience.  I will post pictures and tell all about it later.

Veteren's Day Parade

Wednesday is Veteran's day and to honor all those who have served before and all of those still serving Boise, Id had a parade on Saturday.  Aaron was asked to don his Service Blues and ride a bus out at 7:00 AM to march in this parade.  Despite being on swing shift and not normally getting off work until 4:00 AM he agreed.  They let him off at 8:30 the night before, however it is impossible to just force yourself to fall asleep because you need to wake up early the next morning.  Aaron got an hour and a half nap, and I stayed up to make sure he woke up when his alarm went off.  I tell my husband most days how proud I am of him, However he isn't in the military to hear people say thanks, most days he works a 12 hour shift, makes very little money and lives across the country from his family.  He spent 13 months in Korea with no family and he rarely complained.  My husband does this because he believes, despite the faults our country has, that this country is worth defending.

If you know someone who is currently in, or has served in the past, please go out of your way just to tell them that you are thinking about them.  I cannot tell you how much strangers kindness has meant to my husband.  On his way to Korea (wearing ABU'S on a 14 hour flight) he had several people come up and tell him thanks, and that they were praying for our men.  There are still so many people however that don't know that Iraq and Afghanistan aren't the only places our boys deploy to.  There is still Kuait, South Korea, Turkey, and plenty of other places that they are sent without their families.  My husband returned home at the beginning of June and may be leaving again sometime during January or Feburary.  Most military families have been through at least one and some have bee through 4 or 5.  Keep all of those serving in your prayers.

A tank.  There were two there and it was awesome to see them get moving.

The Scottish band.  It was awesome to see people preserving this traditon.

The warrior riders.

Can't hide that AirForce pride!

South Korea!

I've mentioned that Aaron spent 13 months in south Korea with the Air Force.  I think I might have also mentioned that I was lucky enough to spend a month there with him.  Here are a few pictures of my trip to Korea I will explain where each picture was taken and what exactly is in it.

This was taken Literally 10 hours after I landed in Seoul.  We went to bed, and went into town to eat.  This was near Youngsan/Garrison which is located just outside of Seoul, it is an Army base.  We had to spend a few days there waiting on a piece of luggage.  This was my first taste of soju, and trying beef on a leaf.

This is what I saw when we first sat down to eat.  The thing in the far left top corner is the raw beef, that they cook on a grill at the table.  On the left in the front is Kimchi, there are many different varieties and some of it is quite good.  The middle top is some pickled bean sprouts.  The top Right is some dried seaweed. The bottom right is some noodles in a maynaisse sauce.  The bottom middle is fresh seaweed.  Not pictured are the leaves you put this all on and the rice also.

This is a picture of Aaron and I at Lotte World.  Lotte is like walmart or Disney, they have their hand in everything.  This is an amusement park that is open 365 days a year...On this particular day it was 18 degrees and we rode the Steepest woode rollar coaster in the world.  The T express.  It was a total blast even though it was freezing.

This is a picture of another beef on a leaf resteraunt and the ever present Soju, this is common fare in Korea although it's not very filling.  Later I will post some pictures of Bulgougi which is extra tasty and very filling.

Fort Hood Shooting

I just wanted to post quickly and let everyone know that I am praying for all involved in this horrible shooting.  I am praying for all stationed at fort hood as this must be a terrible shock to you.  I am also praying for all military families out there.  If there is anything going on please seek the help that you need.  I am praying for you and will be lifting all of those serving our country up tonight and in the future.

My two guys

I never thought I would share my home with not one man but two, and I especially didn't think the second guy would be of the feline variety. I never thought I was cat person. In fact I swore up and down that we would own a dog, and then we went to the local animal shelter. This guy had been there for almost a month and as soon as I picked him up he started licking my neck and kneading me. I was smitten, Aaron fell in love and we put him back to discuss what we were going to do. The first major obstacle we had to over come was the fact that both of us were now covered in a sheen of white fur. I had some misgivings, in fact I had a lot of misgivings, however we decided to give this guy a chance, since he was such a sweetheart. We brought him home and proceeded to give him a bath and a major brush down. The next day I was in tears beause my brand new couch was covered in little white hairs. Aaron and I had a serious talk in which we decided that we would wait out the shedding and see how it went. Three weeks later and I don't even notice it anymore...unless I'm wearing a black shirt. Thank goodness for our handy dandy lint roller, and our fantastic vacuum cleaner. Here are my two guys doing what they love best, lounging on the couch.

This is Apollo (named after a character on Battlestar galatica)

Welcome to Mountain Home Idaho!

So here are some of the pictures from our trip cross country. I have to say that we didn't do anything to denote N.C. which is where we started or Virginia which was the second state we passed through. We started taking pictures in West Virginia. and got some really good ones later on. Wyoming was the most photogenic, however there was nothing out there in the way of food or gas...not so good on the bladder.

West Virginia tourist stop

La Carreta the best Mexican restaraunt in West Virginia
It was delicious.

Us at the beginning of 4 long days of driving.

Kentucky!

A good shot of a bridge at night in Kentucky.

Indiana.

A broken bridge in Indiana.

Missouri!

The St. Louis Arch.

In Kansas there was rain...and lots of it.

Iowa was some more rain and a few things of interest.

Like the Sapp bros water towers, which are actually for gas stations...who Knew?

Nebraska!

Wyoming? Oh yeah this is one of those western states right?

Man I look like a rockstar. Even after 2 and a half days of driving.

Some pretty Rocks piled up randomly.

A refinery, on of the two that we saw.

Some windmills.

Utah. The last state before the promise land.

Idaho!!! We finally made it!

A funnel cloud? Is the first sign of something ominious?

Idaho!!!

I am currently in Idaho, at Mountain home AFB, however the new TLF buildings do not have internet and so I can't upload pictures and all sorts of other things. We have a house! Brand new housing with a beautiful yard and kitchen and a front porch and a covered patio. It is everything and more than I could have hoped for, and it is ours as soon as some maintenence gets done on it. Which will be by the end of the week. We have already picked out and bought furniture, there will be picutres, as soon as possible.

Leaving today...

Well Aaron and I are leaving to go to Idaho today, we have a 36 hour trip ahead of us, and it's going to be a test to both of our nerves I'm sure. We went out and got a handy dandy GPS device! I am super excited. Well we are out of here!

Hello again...

I'm still alive, Aaron is home and that has been great. We are getting ready for moving on Monday and all of that jazz. Nora came by today to get some other stuff she left here and to pick up her birth certificate, and her social security card...she's getting married...great :( I'm not sure it could be any worse. I keep hoping she'll figure it out sooner rather than later, but right now I just hope she will learn her freaking lesson. That is all for today.

He's here...

Aaron has been home since sunday afternoon, and we have had a wonderful time with him being here. I guess the hardest part is that after more than a year a way, we are both different. We both had to develop ways to cope to being seperated, and it makes it hard to be back together. Aaron has already spent one night on the couch because I absolutely could not sleep, what a sweetheart. We have also bickered back and forth about quite stupid stuff, someone tell me it gets better.

28 hours away from seeing Aaron!

I am 28 hours away from seeing my husband, I am so excited but also a little worried, we haven't lived together in the past 13 months, what if we don't know how to act around each other? What if things are weird? I don't kn ow I guess I shouldn't worry about things that haven't happened yet. I have only a few things left to do before Aaron gets home, I need to get the tires rotated and balanced, and get the car cleaned and I think that is it. Of course it couldn't be at a worse time for him to come home, I mean aunt flow is here with her leave date being sometime next week...uggh. I also have to work on monday from 6am to 6pm...Yay that should be a barrel of fun, although DH is going to come with me.

Packing, Laundry and cleaning my room...

I hate moving. I guess that's not an accurate description. I love to move, I just hate all of the packing and junk that goes along with it. I wish I could blink my eyes and the 8 or so loads of laundry sitting around would just wash, dry, and fold themselves. Packing isn't completely terrible, I just hate having to tape the boxes up and figure out how things will fit into them...it's going to be a long day around here. I am only two weeks away from driving across country to start setting up a place for me and Aaron in Idaho. I have only 8% left in this deployment. I am so glad to be in the single digits.

I'm going to the beach today!

I'm going to the beach today...I should be staying home this weekend and cleaning my room, and packing, but I have all of next week off to do that. I am leaving NC June 8th to drive across country with my sister Nora and to be put on the housing list at Mountain Home Idaho. Yay! Things are finally coming together!

This is a frivolous whine...be warned!

I miss my husband so much it hurts. There I have said it. I want him back in the country, back in my arms and back where he belongs. That man is so funny and sweet and he is just incredible...That being said sometimes he gets me so mad my head boils. I guess once he gets orders me and Nora (one of my sisters) will be driving across country to get put on the housing list and then I will wait for him to have TMO pick up his stuff and come on over. I will see him by june 30th when he has to report at Mountain Home AFB but I wish it was sooner, that is a full 41 days from now! I feel upset that the military is being so unaccomadating when it comes scheduling his TMO date, but I will get over it. Thanks for listening.

I think it's starting to sink in...what are we getting ourselves into?

So the last time I up and moved across the country to be with Aaron we had been married for less than a week and I was so excited I didn't know what to do with myself. Living in the base hotel for close to three weeks was an adventure! Even when in those first three weeks Aaron slept on the couch several times, nothing could deter our "Love". Boy were those the days...alas the days when buying less than $3.00 worth of Beef tips and putting them over ramen noodles and calling it a feast may have passed, however the love I feel for my husband has just grown and grown. I will say this though, I am not a naive 19 year old anymore. Well at least I'm not as naive as I was back then. In a little over two and a half years of marriage (one of which we spent apart/ him in Korea/ me back here at home) I've learned a few Key points. The military lies... let me just repeat that for those of you who didn't catch it the first time around...The military lies. Now I'm sure this seems cynical and mean, and the truth is I am a bit cynical when it comes to the military. Sometimes, and by that I mean most of the time the military is only going to give you a half truth...UNLESS you are willing to ask a million questions and risk making yourself a nuisence. It's okay to ask questions. I have learned that lesson more times than I care to say, however one prime example is that for the first 10 months Aaron and I were married he was not being paid BAS which most of you will know means he wasn't getting food money. Aaron was sure that the military would never ever make the mistake of messing up his pay, well it wasn't until I nagged and nagged that he started checking his LES to see if he was being paid correctly. Finally we got it fixed and recieved a back pay of $3000, however it would have been better to have it all those months that we didn't. My point is this; people assured him he was being paid correctly, however Aaron didn't know how to make sure it was correct. Only after asking questions did we find out how to check it ourselves. The second thing I've learned is that the military is like a family. The biggest and most diverse family you could ever ask for or hope for. People will go out of their way to see if they can help you. While Aaron was stationed in AZ I had to have my appendix removed, Aaron was not allowed to stay in the hospital with me overnight and so a good friend of ours stayed with me and spent all night helping me get up and down to the bathroom. I had been in AZ less than 6 months. Where else will you find people willing to help you move that 300 pound sofa bed up a flight of stairs into a second story apartment? And then help you move it back down less than three months later when you find out your going to Korea? If I can say one thing about the military it's this...you never know what tomorrow is going to bring, however you always know that someone will be there to help you get through it.

All of that being said...Idaho??? Really? I mean don't get me wrong at this point I would take the moon if it means getting to see my husband again, but what are we getting ourselves into here? Boise is almost an hour drive according to the base website, and despite being named Mountain Home AFB I have been told that there aren't actually any mountains in sight! How's that for misleading information? I'll tell you what, I'm going to stay positive and give this place a shot, just like I did for Arizona, which I grew to love.

Hello Idaho Here we come!!!

It's been a long year away from my husband however we are both ready for the challange of the next base and finally having the money saved up to pick out and buy furniture instead of scouring craigslist for deals. We will be driving the 35 hours from Durham N.C. to Mountain Home, Idaho as soon as he gets done outprocessing Kunsan AB, Korea. I'm sure there will be lots of laughs, crying, and hard work trying to get settled into our new place. This blog is so that family and friends can follow us on our journey. I will post pictures, recipes, and anything else I want to share.