Weekend Recap Time!

I had a great (albeit too fast) weekend so here's a little recap...

FRIDAY:

We went to a minor league baseball game with friends! We ate dinner at the ballfield and I got a grilled chicken sandwich with curly fries (plus a beer!). The chicken breast was so itty-bitty it was laughable! I wish I had taken a picture of it but it was so HOT out there (even at 7pm) that I was pretty much doing everything I could to stay cool (including not moving to grab my camera).

SATURDAY:

We went to a going away party for friends who are (obviously) moving away. The husband is getting out of the Army and joining the FBI, which is very cool, but we will miss them both dearly! Again, I was feeling lazy with the picture-taking so I took exactly ZERO photos. Doh! That's so unlike me!

Anyway the party was a potluck and there was a nice spread of brisket, macaroni salad, baked beans, etc. I brought s'more bars, olive focaccia, strawberry balsamic salad and guacamole. Quite the random assortment of food, yes, but all delicious!

The party entertainment consisted of many games of Cornhole. I had never played before {apparently it's a Midwestern thing?} but it is basically tossing a bean bag into a hole. Sounds easy, right? I thought I would be especially good at it since I played softball in highschool but....not so much. I don't know what my problem was but I was NOT good.

Have you played Cornhole before? Are you any good at it? What's the secret?

Also, what's your favorite dish to bring to a potluck? I always have trouble deciding on what to bring {hence the reason why I brought 4 things...ha!}.

I planned on recapping Sunday in this post too but after typing it all out it's getting to be a super long post so I'll do it separately.

Adventures in Bad Waiterland

Last night we went out to dinner with some friends and had yet another bad experience with a waiter. We have a running joke in our group of friends that we must be like kryptonite to a waiter because we seem to almost ALWAYS have terrible waiters.


Now, I get that when we have 15-20 people in our party that task can be a bit daunting and confusing. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when we have that many people. But last night we only had 9 people...I feel like that's a manageable amount of people.

Our waitress last night was extremely slow at getting anything to us {my friend actually had to get up and get our silverware for us after we got our food}, got 3 of our orders completely wrong and then basically tried to blame it on us saying that we actually ordered them wrong. Uhhhh no. And where in waiter training did they tell you that "The customer is actually always WRONG." ??? I've been through extensive customer service training before and I don't recall that ever being the mantra that they drill into your brain.

Luckily last night the manager of the restaurant stepped in, comped a round of drinks for all of us, and comped the meals of those of us who had our orders screwed up. The manager seemed legitimately embarrassed by her waitstaff and did a great job of making us happy again after a bad situation.

However, in the past we have had many other bad waiter experiences and the manager doesn't always step in. It's just baffling to me that so many waiters can be so BAD and so many managers can be so nonchalant about their staff.

I've never been a waiter before so I'm hesitant to make too many judgments about the difficulty of the job, but I definitely don't feel that it's acceptable to not own up to your mistakes once they've been made. And I'd really like it if waiters in my area could start taking some extensive training on handling large groups. Is that too much to ask??

Capturing Memories

Confession: I have a terrible memory. I mean, really bad. It really doesn't contain itself to only short term or long term...it's everything. Until I've met you a handful of times, I probably don't actually remember your name {I'm just faking it by saying "Hey you!" or something along those lines}. Oh or ask me to recall a book or movie premise...you can forget about that. Even my "favorite" books and movies are usually somewhat foggy.

At least I come by it honestly though, since both my parents struggle with their memory. I can certainly blame this on the two of them. My dad claims that his loss of memory didn't set in until recently, which might be true. My mom, on the other hand, well let's just say I take after my mom in the memory department.

Today I was thinking about memories and how sad it makes me that I'm already losing a lot of them from my life. I'm young...I shouldn't be forgetting things that happened in my life already!!

Thinking about memories led me to think about something that helps spark memories: photographs. I thought, "Hey well I like to take photos...so I'll have lots to help me remember things someday." But the problem that led me to was how I store those photos. I always just load my photos onto the computer and then just leave them there for all of eternity. Unorganized, unlabeled, and unsafe. The computer hard drive could crash at any moment and I would lose a significant amount of my photos. {I know, I know I should "back them up"}

My next thought was: I need to start scrapbooking. It will force me to actually get the photos printed, as well as organize and label them in an album.

Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I get these grand ideas to start new hobbies and then eventually they fade off until the hobby is just a distant {foggy} memory. Like that sewing machine I bought and promised I would start using....uhhh yeah {Although I still stand by the fact that every girl should have a sewing machine, whether she uses it or not}.

Because I know myself, I'm hesitant to go out and spend a lot of money on a new "hobby" if it means it will probably go to waste. But when I stepped into the scrapbooking aisles at Hobby Lobby today, I was faced with complete scrapbook overload. And that sh*t's expensive too!

These are some of the things that went through my mind as I shopped: "I need a paper cutter to scrapbook...that's basic." "Oh a star-shaped hole punch....that's completely necessary." "Three value packs of scrapbook paper that each contain 300 sheets isn't too much because you never know when you'll need a certain type, color or design of paper!"

Soon I realized that this was crazy and was able to reign myself in. I only ended up buying a simple album and one value pack of cardstock. I figured I'd start simple with my first album, and if it's something that I think I can maintain, maybe I'll go for more decoration and supplies in the future.

Wish me luck!

And if there are any "scrappers" out there {Danielle I know you do!}: How do you keep from going broke? What are the essential scrapbooking tools for a beginner? Fill me with your scrapping wisdom!

Ash Wednesday Dinner {What's for Dinner? 2/17/2010}

Happy Ash Wednesday!

As Catholics, we celebrate the first day of Lent by going to Mass and not eating meat. The 2nd part of that tends to be the annoying part, as we are major meat eaters. However, tonight we had a great no-meat alternative: Veggie Pizza! Lots of veggies {kalamata olives, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms} and lots of cheese. Yum!


The priest who conducted Mass today made a great point about how we always consider Lent to mean giving up things like chocolate or coke. But in reality those trivial items don't necessarily bring you any closer to God. He suggested trying to forgive more as a true challenge. That message really hit me hard, as I just wasn't feeling my typical "give up coke for Lent" sacrifice.

So this Lenten season I'm going to try to improve myself and my relationship with God in the following ways:

1. Practice more forgiveness {especially with coworkers}

2. Be more positive at work and life in general {I tend to be a big pessimist}

What are you doing for Lent?

I spent my Christmas Eve stuck in a blizzard.

In my Merry Christmas post, I alluded to the fact that we had an exciting experience over the Christmas holidays. Well, I think I'm officially over the trauma of it all to actually write about it. ;-)

It all started on Christmas Eve, when we departed for the 8 hour drive to Alex's hometown. We knew there was going to be bad weather and snow along the trip, but we definitely underestimated the extent of it. When both of our moms tried to talk us into leaving the day before because of the weather predictions, we said things like "Oh stop worrying...it's no big deal! We'll be fine!"

Oh how we would regret those words later.

So about 4 hours into the trip we start hitting some SERIOUS snowing and icing conditions. It was scary. We were driving at about 30 miles per hour (or less) because of the low visibility and the likelihood of hitting icy roads. We were passing wreck after wreck after wreck on the side of the highway...people who had just minutes before hit an ice patch and veered off into the barriers. Scary stuff!

So at this point we start thinking "Crap. Maybe we should stop and let the weather pass." But then we decide to just try to make it to the next major city before we pull off the highway. BIG.FREAKING.MISTAKE.

About 3 miles from the exit off the highway where we were planning on exiting to wait it out, we come to a standstill. And we don't move. For 1 hour. For 2 hours.

We get a call from a family member who lives in the city we were attempting to get to and she tells us that she is hearing news reports that they shut down the interstate. With no mention of when they'll be reopening it. Awesome.

So we wait, and wait, and wait. Never moving. With a blizzard going on outside our car, which makes it impossible (or just stupid) to get out and walk or stretch your legs. We got stuck at 2pm and didn't get moving again until 12:30pm on Christmas Day. No food in the car (other than dog food....we weren't that desperate). No toilet (I never thought I'd actually have to pee into a receptacle (mini-cooler lunch box thing) in a car....well....I did). Nothing to do. No where to go. 10+ hours.

On a positive note, we had just filled up with gas right before getting stuck, so we were good on that. Plus, we had a lot of extra coats in the car so during the periods when we turned the car off to conserve gas we had plenty to bundle up with. Also, at the last minute we decided to take the truck instead of my small SUV. Thank GOODNESS, because the truck is wayyyyyy more roomy than the SUV and way more safe to drive in those conditions.

Here are some pictures from the time when we were stuck...

Libby was such a trooper...she just slept the whole time.

He was rather discouraged.

See the snow blowing vertically across the picture...yeah...not fun.

10+ hours and 14 inches of snow later, the traffic started moving. It was shortly after the clock struck midnight, aka Christmas day, and if that's not an example of God's works then I don't know what is.

When we finally got off the interstate we headed to the nearest hotel and bunked down for the night. It certainly wasn't how we anticipated spending our Christmas Eve, but in the end it's an experience we will never forget. And from now on we'll be sure to have back-up snacks and supplies in the car in case of emergency. :)

Merry {Belated} Christmas!

Merry belated Christmas to everyone! I'm having a VERY merry one thanks to this guy:

Isn't he HANDSOME?!?! He makes my Christmas merry and fulfilled. Having him home is the best Christmas present I could have asked for.

The second best Christmas present is the one he got me: a Canon Rebel digital SLR camera!!! I've been wanting one for years now so I was so excited when I opened it on Christmas day. I've been having a blast taking pictures of everyone and everything....

Libby giving me the stink-eye.

Libby watching Alex's dad shovel snow...I love this one.

The close-up, detail pictures are my favorite!

I can't wait to take pictures of my food...this camera makes everything look delicious!!


Snow + Christmas + Husband = Best.Christmas.Ever.

It has also been a very...eventful...couple of days, but that's a whole new blog post that I'll have to take time to write out later. Let's just say it involved a blizzard and a LOT of time on an interstate. :)

Under Pressure

Let me introduce you to little Ashlex, our future child, according to www.morphthing.com: drumroll please.................................................................

I think Ashlex is pretty cute, in a semi-creepy kind of way! I had never done one of these "What will your baby look like?" things so this was fun.

But the most fun part was the email I sent to my mom with the subject line "Our Baby" and the photo attached.

You see, my mom is...hmmm how shall I say this....OBSESSED with the idea of being a grandma. Aren't you supposed to DREAD being a grandma?!? Well...she doesn't. It's ridiculous. And she tends to get just a teeeeensy bit jumpy at any mention of ANYTHING that could POSSIBLY be related to Alex and I having a baby.

For example, I say "Ugh I feel nauseous." Mom gasps and says "Morning sickness?!?!?"

Or I look at a very cute baby in church and say "Aww...cute." Mom's response: "Not nearly as cute as YOUR baby will be." ::wink::

My dad isn't much better either. In fact, he could even be worse, considering his speech at our rehearsal dinner involved him holding up a baby cousin of mine like she was Simba from the Lion King and saying something along the lines of "THIS is what you and Alex need to produce now." WE WERE NEGATIVE 24 HOURS MARRIED AT THIS POINT. So you can only imagine the pressure we get from him now that we are 2+ years married.

OH! One more story. {I could go on for hours about my parents baby-centric antics.} Our first Christmas as a married couple came about 4 months after our wedding. My mom put a PREGNANCY TEST in my stocking. She claimed she "just wanted to see the look on my face" but we all know that this was actually a thinly veiled plot.

Want proof? Here is when I looked in the stocking and saw what it was. I'm looking at her with the "I can't believe you did this" look.
And here I am giving the death stare and holding up my precious "present".

I've since learned that the best plan of action against this is to do nothing....other than roll my eyes. Because if I try to explain how we're still young and we're not quite ready to be parents yet they just come back at me with 25 reasons why we SHOULD be ready.

So anyway, when I sent the "Our Baby" email to my mom I knew it would get her all flustered so I was anxiously awaiting her response.

Her response was "Don't ever do that to me again." hahahaha

Sorry, Mom!! It was just too easy.

{And in all honesty, it actually makes me happy how excited both of my parents are for future grandchildren because I know our future children will be SO LOVED by Grandma and Grandpa. But they could be a little more discreet about their excitement for pete's sake! :) }

Thanksgiving 2009

Some of my favorite images from Thanksgiving 2009:

Mom & Me

Mom & my brother

My ADORABLE cousin!!

The food spread

The dessert table

My plate: before

My plate: after

Thankful for Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Oh how I love Thanksgiving! It's no secret amongst those who know me that I am a BIG fan of food and eating. My family used to call me the "human garbage disposal" because I could eat so much. Unfortunately as I've grown up all those calories catch up to me faster than they used to. For that reason, I love Thanksgiving because it doesn't matter how many calories you take in or how high you pile your plate! It's the ONE day a year where eating copious amounts of fattening comfort food is encouraged!

I'm in my hometown for the long weekend, spending time with immediate and extended family. We aren't actually doing our big Thanksgiving meal until tomorrow though so I have to wait another day for my delicious meal...boo!

In honor of Thanksgiving, here are some things I am thankful for this year:

1. This deployment is ALMOST over. My husband will be home verrrrry soon and I am so thankful for that.
2. My supportive friends and family. I don't even know how to express how thankful I am for all the support we've received over the past year (and all my life for that matter).
   
3. A stable lifestyle. Alex and I both have stable jobs and a nice rental home to live in. In this economy, that's certainly something to be thankful for!
4. All 4 of my grandparents are alive (and spunky as ever)! As I get older, I realize how truly lucky I am to still have all 4 grandparents in my life. I can't imagine life without them so I hope that they all live to be a LOT older so that my future children can be blessed to know them, just like I have been.
   

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. I feel an upset coming on. Beat the HELL outta t.u.!

I'm Sorry

Dear Readers,

I'm sorry I've been MIA for almost 2 weeks. It's been a combination of things that have kept me away from my beloved blog.

1. I joined a new gym and I've been back on the working out train lately. I realized that Alex's homecoming is quickly approaching and I needed to start getting my butt in gear. So I've been working out about 4-5 days a week after work for the past couple weeks. This usually means I don't get home from work and the gym until after 7pm and by the time I eat dinner and relax a bit it's already time for bed!

2. I think I've reached the "I'm-Just-So-Freaking-Ready-For-This-Deployment-To-Be-Over-That-I'm-Apathetic-About-Everything...Including-My-Blog Phase." You can quote me on that phase. It's self-diagnosed, but I think it's pretty accurate and scientific!

3. I've been busy busy busy! Work has been super busy for me and I've been out of town a lot on the weekends. I've been out of town the past two weekends and I'll be out of town for the next two weekends too! Then I'll have one weekend at home and then I'll be out of town again (for Thanksgiving)....WOW. I've been having a TON of fun every weekend but not being at home for the weekends does mean that I tend to get behind on things and my life becomes hectic. I really need my weekends to play catch up! So needless to say, I've been behind on EVERYTHING lately and I don't see that changing soon.

4. I am not feeling 100% healthy. Granted, this has only been an issue the past couple of days, but it still counts as a reason why I've been MIA! I'm trying like crazy to fight off whatever this sickness is that I can feel coming on. So far I think I've been beating it by getting lots of vitamin C, drinking Airborne in my water, and going to bed early but I'm still just not 100%. Let's hope I can keep fighting it off without getting too sick! This is not a good week to be sick for me....too much going on!

Anyway, thanks for checking in to my blog despite my lack of updates lately. I hope to be inspired to blog about something more interesting than my "excuses" soon but I can't make any promises. :)

New Blog Button

Do you like my new addition to the blog? Scroll down just a bit and look on the right side. It's just after the "About Me" section. Go ahead...don't be afraid.

If you can't find it then I'll make it easy on you:



Do you get it? What do the first letters of the first 4 words spell out? hehe

Found this little gem on a military wife's blog that I stumbled upon today. Click on the button and it will take you there.

Thanks for the great new button, Shay!

Random Rants

I'm bored at work today {which never happens} because my computer got confiscated so the IT department could upgrade it to Vista. What if I don't freaking want to be upgraded to Vista? "You don't have a choice." Fine. Take my freaking computer and I'll just play on a different computer all day since I can only access my files and work email from MY computer. My job pretty much relies on my computer so there's not much I can do today. Hence the blog updating and random ranting. Let's get started:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pandora Internet Radio is AWESOME! It's a free internet radio service that caters to your specific taste in music. And I love it.

Unfortunately, it's blocked on our computers at work {bastards}. I mean really, what harm does it do to allow your employees to listen to music on their computers?!? In fact, I would probably get MORE done if I was able to have music playing at my desk.

So a big EFF YOU to the IT peeps that decided it was okay to allow access to FACEBOOK but not to Pandora. Facebook is less distracting than harmless background music...REALLY?!?

Oh and P.S. don't even think about leaving any snarky comments about how I could listen to music on a radio {aka the old fashioned way} because my office is literally a closet that got transformed into an office so I can't get a lick of radio reception in there. And I don't own CD's anymore so that won't work. All my music is on my iPod but I'm not about to go out and spend money on an iPod docking station for my office that would be way too easy for someone to steal. So just stop thinking of alternatives and say it with me: shove it IT department!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, WTF is up with this whole Balloon Boy drama?! What kind of whack jobs do you have to be to think of such an elaborate {and stupid} plan and then be dumb enough to get CAUGHT. Idiots! Throw the parents into jail and get those kids some therapy STAT.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Biggest Loser is on tonight and I'm super excited about it!!! It's one of the only shows that I still get excited about watching. So inspiring and fascinating to watch them drop crazy amounts of weight every week.

{I really really really hope Tracy gets the boot tonight. What a crazy b!tch!}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow this post sure did live up to it's "Random" title. haha.

Libby's Story

WARNING: This is really a purely selfish post to show off how cute my dog is.
See what I mean?!? Libby is a 4 year old Terrier Mix {a.k.a. mutt...but we don't tell her that}. We adopted Libby from the Houston SPCA a year ago. As I was walking along looking at all the dogs lined up in their cages at the SPCA, I came across Libby who looked totally different from all the Labs, Golden Retrievers, etc. And while all the other dogs were barking like mad and going crazy, Libby was just politely sitting there with a big "smile" on her face. She was the perfect size {about 35 pounds} and I totally fell in love with her when we took her to the "play area" to "meet her". She was so loving and had a really happy air about her.

So, we adopted her! How could we not with a face like this?!?
The details on Libby's previous life are a little sketchy. All we know for sure is that her previous owners gave her up to the SPCA because they were moving, and I guess they couldn't take her with them. I still fail to realize how someone could give up a dog like Libby for such a dumb reason, but I'm glad they did so we could get her!

We also think that Libby was a stray before she was adopted by her previous owners because she has a "tattoo" on her belly that is a female sign with a slash through it. The vet told us the tattoo signifies that she has been spayed and they usually only tattoo dogs with this symbol if they are strays or homeless so that their future owners will know she's already been spayed. So my poor Libby probably had a pretty interesting life before we found her. Another sign that she may have had some abuse in her past was that she was VERY "head shy" when we first adopted her {a.k.a. she always ducked whenever we went to pet her...as if she was scared we were going to hurt her}. I hate to think of what might have happened to her in the past. :-(

But, luckily we found her and now she has a great life. She gets to lounge on furniture and sleeps in the bed with us {spoiled}.

She has a few "quirks" but those are part of what we love about her. When we first got her she had a serious jumping problem but we've been working on that and she's gotten a lot better now.

She also likes to "talk back" to us like the spoiled little brat that she is. For example, if you tell her "No!" she sometimes growls back at you. Not in a vicious way, just in a funny way. Or when you aren't paying enough attention to her she'll growl at you as if she's saying "Pet me or else!"

She also likes to "sing". If you start howling she'll howl right along with you. It's pretty funny.

Finally, her most annoying but also lovable quirk is her licking. One of her nicknames is "Licky" because she never. stops. licking. It's crazy! And she'll lick anything...legs, hands, faces, furniture, the bedspread, the floor, etc. Sometimes she'll even lick so much that her tongue gets "stuck" on the thing she's licking. It's hilarious but you really have to see it to believe it.

But with all her quirks, we really couldn't have asked for a more perfect dog. She came potty trained, she's eager to please, she's not much of a "destroyer", she loves to sleep, she couldn't hurt a fly {good for future little ones} and she's super cute.

Oh and Libby loves playing dress up...Pretty in Pink Libby

Patriotic Bikini Libby

Rocker Mohawk Libby


Princess Libby

{Libby would like to thank her "Aunt" Andrea for most of these dress-up ideas. She misses having her Aunt around!}

I would like to encourage everyone to adopt their pets instead of buying them from pet stores or backyard breeders. It's usually cheaper to adopt and they come spayed or neutered and usually with all their shots already. www.petfinder.com is a great website to use to find dogs up for adoption. You can even search by the breed if you're only interested in a certain breed!

If you can't adopt a dog right now but you want to help out, I recommend volunteering at your local animal shelter. Or donate food, money or supplies to the shelter! They can ALWAYS use extra hands and/or supplies.

Coming Down Off the R&R High

Hello loyal readers!!

I apologize for my absence the past couple of weeks...but I have a good excuse! My husband came home for his 2 weeks of Rest & Relaxation from deployment! Annnddddd it was AMAZING!!! I know that word is an overused adjective these days but I really think it fits.

It started out a bit rocky with several frustrating flight delays. I ended up picking him up at the DFW airport at 4am three days later than was originally planned. However, in the end it all worked out perfectly and I really didn't care about anything else once I set eyes on him in person for the first time in 7.5 months.

In an effort not to bore you, I will just share some of the highlights from our R&R:

• Alex's first dinner back in the states at the ever-popular Texas Roadhouse
  
• Spending our 2nd anniversary in Austin staying at the beautiful and historic Driskill Hotel (and getting a free upgrade to the Bridal Suite)
• Spending time with Alex's parents as well as my crazy extended family
• A 4 night trip to CANCUN!! We stayed at an all-inclusive and couldn't have had a better trip.
• But most of all, just spending time at home, alone, just like a "normal" couple...cooking dinner, watching movies, snuggling on the couch, and doing dishes. It's weird how much you miss the simple things.

As cheesy as this may sound, I fell in love with my husband all over again. Not that I had ever fallen out of love with him (or even come close to it), but I think I had just blocked out a lot of the things that I love about him most in an effort to not miss him as much while he was gone. Sort of a defensive action, I guess?

But anyway, I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!! He's loving, caring, funny, helpful, patient and so many more wonderful things.

The only thing that seriously sucks about having such an amazing R&R is that it really, really sucks when he has to go back. He left to go back this past Monday and I just haven't really been able to get over the slight funk I've been in since then (hence the lack of blog updates). I just miss him.

BUT, the good news is we are well into the downhill slide of this deployment now. Woohoo!! AND, I have freaking fabulous Army Wife friends who are there for me through all of my deployment funks. :)

Today is a REALLY Good Day!

Why is today a really good day, you ask? Well, I really like lists so I will lay it out below:

1. It's a Saturday! Saturdays are good for obvious reasons...

No work (although I do plan on going into work for a few hours later today to get caught up...but still it's just the fact that I don't HAVE to work if I don't want to).

You can sleep in. I slept in until 8:50am and it was glorious. I would have probably slept later except I woke up to Libby furiously licking my arm. That's her gentle way of saying "Mom, wake up! I'm bored." It is actually not a bad way to wake up...much preferred to barking, whining, and/or depositing bodily fluids on the floor.

You can be as lazy or as productive as you want! At the moment I am choosing lazy (minus the fact that I'm updating the blog). Here is a view of what I am doing this morning:

It's really quite wonderful. Sitting in my chaise lounge with a book (which I'm almost finished with...review to come in a future post), my computer with all my favorite websites pulled up (gmail, facebook, blogger, etc.), the remote controls to the TV, and my COFFEE (a must-have). Ahhh...bliss.

Although I'm currently choosing lazy, I do have some big plans for productivity today. Like I mentioned above, I am going into work for a bit, I have to tackle the pile of dirty dishes that I let get a bit out of control this week, I'm going to go the animal shelter and help walk the dogs for an hour or two (my new weekend tradition), I'm going to stop by Old Navy and do a little shopping since they are running a special military discount for this weekend only, and hopefully I'll get around to applying the polyurethane coats on the new coffee table and side tables.

2. Now that I got off on a tangent, reason # 2 why today is a really good day is that it's the FIRST DAY OF AUGUST!!! Ok I realize not everyone will be so excited that today is the first day of August but I have many reasons to LOVE the month of August this year.

The most exciting reason being, my husband comes home for R&R this month!!!! ::::squeal::::: R&R stands for Rest & Relaxation which is period of 15 days in which the deployed soldier gets to come home for a "break" from the deployment. It will have been 7.5 months since we've seen each other when he comes home...aka TOO LONG. I can't wait!!!

August is our anniversary month! We will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary this month AND my husband will conveniently be home on his R&R for our anniversary. :::squeal again:::

We are going to Cancun! We booked a trip to go to Cancun and stay at the Sun Palace for 4 nights during his R&R. It's adults only, all-inclusive resort and we are PSYCHED about it. We just really need that time to get away and reconnect (and drinking margaritas on the beach can't hurt either).

So as you can see, I have lots of reasons to think that today is a GREAT day. I hope today is great for all of you too.